Opinion ID: 2613357
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Plea Bargain Offer

Text: Giles and Wright argue that the offer of a plea bargain to Laura Wright placed her interests in conflict with those of Giles, and that she should have been represented by separate counsel from that point forward. The facts show that Wright was advised that if she wished to consider plea bargain negotiations, she should contact another attorney. When Wright refused the offer, she was questioned in detail by Judge Schroeder as to her understanding of the plea bargain and her rights, including her right to be represented by independent counsel. She stated very clearly that she did not intend to accept the plea bargain agreement, simply because she did not feel she had done anything wrong, and the plea bargain would have required her to admit her complicity in the offending charge. Understanding that she could have had separate legal counsel, she voluntarily chose not to. The district court therefore concluded, correctly, that the defendants wanted a unified defense and that Wright was waiving any objections as to proceeding otherwise. In light of the above detailed course of events, we hold that the plea bargain offer did not, as Giles and Wright assert, create an actual conflict of interest. If it had, Wright explicitly waived any claim of ineffective assistance of counsel on allowing herself to be questioned by the district court.