Opinion ID: 2996020
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Litwin’s Motion to Serve as Co-Counsel

Text: Before trial, defendant Litwin, an attorney specializing in tax, real estate, and bankruptcy law, filed a motion to serve as co-counsel in his defense. The district court denied the motion, and Litwin raises the issue again on appeal. There is no question that a defendant has a constitutional right to conduct his own defense. But seeking to serve as cocounsel in a “hybrid representation” is a separate question. United States v. Oakey, 853 F.2d 551, 553 (7th Cir. 1988). We recognize, along with all other circuits that have considered the question, that there is no Sixth Amendment right to hybrid representation; rather, whether a defendant may act as co-counsel along with his own attorney, is a matter within the discretion of the district court. United States v. Tutino, 883 F.2d 1125, 1141 (2d Cir. 1989) (“The decision to grant or deny ‘hybrid representation’ lies solely within the discretion of the trial court.”); United States v. Norris, 780 F.2d 1207, 1211 (5th Cir. 1986) (“[A] defendant does not have the right to a hybrid representation, in which he conducts a portion of the trial and counsel conducts the balance.”); United States v. Halbert, 640 F.2d 1000, 1009 (9th Cir. 1981) (“A criminal defendant does not have an absolute right to both self-representation and the assistance of counsel.”); see also United States v. Singleton, 107 F.3d 1091, 1101 n.7 (4th Cir. 1997) (“The cases reiterating the principle that courts are not required to allow defendants to split the responsibilities of the representation with an attorney are myriad.”). This court has held that hybrid representation is “disfavored.” United States v. Kosmel, 272 F.3d 501, 506 (7th Cir. 2001); Cain v. Peters, 972 F.2d 748, 750 (7th Cir. 1992); United States v. Oakey, 853 F.2d 551, 553 (7th Cir. 1988). The primary reason we have expressed concern about hybrid representation is because “it allows a defendant to address the jury, in his capacity as counsel, without being Nos. 01-2302 & 01-3414 9 cross-examined, in his capacity as a defendant.” Oakey, 853 F.2d at 553. Litwin contends that his assurances, given before trial, that he would testify if permitted to serve as co-counsel neutralized the potential problems with hybrid representation. This sort of pre-trial promise, however, does not fully allay the concerns. If, after the trial began, he were to go back on his promise and decide not to testify, there would be no effective way for the trial court then to compel him to take the stand. Consequently, his promise is without effect. Further, the fact that Litwin is an attorney with experience in the matters involved in this case does not in any way ease concerns that he could make unsworn statements to the jury without being subject to crossexamination. Therefore, we find that the district court properly refused to allow Litwin to serve as co-counsel in his defense. 5. Sufficiency of Evidence: Glickman’s Testimony Litwin challenges two aspects of the verdict against him on grounds of insufficient evidence; the first is whether the testimony of his cousin was sufficient to convict him. We will reverse based on insufficiency of evidence only if, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, the record contains no evidence from which the jury could find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. United States v. Combs, 222 F.3d 353, 362 (7th Cir. 2000). Litwin argued in a motion for a judgment of acquittal that the testimony of his cousin, Michael Glickman, was inherently incredible. The district court denied the motion and we affirm. As we have stated in previous cases, “it is not the role of the appellate court to question the jury’s credibility determinations.” United States v. Stott, 245 F.3d 890, 898 (7th Cir. 2001); see also United States v. Durham, 211 F.3d 437, 445 (7th Cir. 2000); United States v. Alcantar, 83 F.3d 185, 189 (7th Cir. 1996). Therefore, we will reverse 10 Nos. 01-2302 & 01-3414 a jury verdict only if the testimony was incredible as a matter of law. Stott, 245 F.3d at 898. Litwin points primarily to evidence that Glickman had previously lied to or cheated various people, including his own family members. We do not find that this evidence, or any of the other evidence that Litwin has put before us, meets his substantial burden of showing that Glickman’s testimony was incredible as a matter of law. 6. Sufficiency of Evidence: Conviction on Counts 4 and 6 Counts 4 and 6 of the indictment charged Litwin with assisting Chavin in the presentation of fraudulent tax returns for 1993 and 1994—the years in which Chavin carried over the fraudulent bad debt loss. Litwin contends that the guilty verdict on these counts must be reversed because he did not aid Chavin in the preparation of these returns, nor, he claims, was it foreseeable to him that Chavin would make false statements on these returns. We disagree. Litwin knew that Chavin would have a large bad-debt loss in 1992 because he had helped Chavin create the loss. And based on Litwin’s experience in tax matters, it was reasonable for the jury to conclude that he would have known that the entire loss could not have been deducted in 1992—that some of it would have to be carried over to subsequent years. Therefore, we find that there was sufficient evidence to support his conviction on Counts 4 and 6.