Opinion ID: 1127349
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The trial court's refusal to reappoint Stein.

Text: (6a) Defendant contends the trial court violated his right to the effective assistance of counsel by denying his request for the reappointment of Stein to represent him in the superior court. A series of judicial decisions of this court have established guiding principles pertaining to an indigent defendant's request for appointment of a particular attorney of his or her choice. (7) The appointment of counsel for indigent defendants under section 987.2 rests within the sound discretion of the trial court. ( Drumgo v. Superior Court (1973) 8 Cal.3d 930 [106 Cal. Rptr. 631, 506 P.2d 1007] ( Drumgo ).) The court's discretion in the appointment of counsel may not be restricted by any fixed policy (e.g., a superior court policy to appoint its own counsel in every case [ People v. Chavez (1980) 26 Cal.3d 334, 346 (161 Cal. Rptr. 762, 605 P.2d 401)]). An abuse of discretion is not demonstrated, however, simply by the failure of a trial court to appoint a particular counsel whom the defendant has requested and who is willing to undertake the appointment. ( Drumgo, supra, 8 Cal.3d at pp. 933-934.) In Drumgo, supra, 8 Cal.3d 930, the defendant moved for the appointment of a particular attorney, Richard Hodge, to represent him at trial, rather than the attorney appointed by the court, on the sole ground of defendant's trust and confidence in Hodge and defendant's lack of knowledge concerning appointed counsel. There was no showing that Hodge previously had represented defendant, nor any suggestion that any disagreement had arisen with appointed counsel regarding trial tactics or any other aspect of the presentation of the defense. Defendant nevertheless purported to refuse the services of appointed counsel. The trial court denied the motion, finding that court-appointed counsel was competent and that the matters asserted in support of the motion did not provide a basis for termination of the appointment. In upholding the trial court, this court observed that constitutional and statutory guarantees of the assistance of counsel are not violated simply by the appointment of an attorney other than the one requested by a defendant. (8 Cal.3d at p. 934.) We concluded that the circumstance that the defendant had announced that he would refuse to cooperate with appointed counsel in the preparation of a defense does not create a situation which entitles an indigent defendant to the appointment or substitution of a particular attorney selected by defendant. ( Id. at pp. 935-936.) In contrast, in Harris v. Superior Court (1977) 19 Cal.3d 786 [140 Cal. Rptr. 318, 567 P.2d 750], we concluded the trial court abused its discretion in declining to appoint the attorneys requested by the defendants who had represented them in related proceedings in municipal court, and in appointing new counsel instead. The Harris decision pointed to several factors that the trial court improperly had disregarded in refusing to appoint the attorneys of defendants' choice: the documented fact that the familiarity of former counsel with the issues and witnesses involved in defendants' alleged activities as members of the so-called Symbionese Liberation Army greatly would facilitate the preparation of the superior court case; the circumstance that former counsel not only had represented the defendants in the same proceeding but also in several other criminal cases arising out of these same activities; and the support of newly appointed counsel for the reappointment of former counsel, for the reason that the effort required of new counsel to achieve a level of familiarity with the case comparable to that of former counsel would entail considerable duplicative time and expense to the county  all of which could be avoided by the reappointment of former counsel. The court in Harris concluded that, because the defendants' preference for counsel was supported by objective considerations, and there were no countervailing considerations of comparable weight, it was an abuse of discretion to deny the defendants' request for appointment of counsel of their choice. (19 Cal.3d at p. 799.) (6b) In the present case, defendant's request for appointment of Stein was based upon the subjective factor of his having developed a relationship of trust and confidence in the attorney in preparation for the preliminary hearing. In support of his reappointment, Stein offered the objective considerations that he had familiarized himself with the case in preparation for the preliminary hearing, having expended approximately 15 hours in conference with defendant. Stein did not demonstrate, however, that he had achieved a familiarity with the issues or evidence that newly appointed counsel would be unable to achieve without considerable duplication of time and effort. At the preliminary hearing, Stein did not present a defense, and there was no indication that he had interviewed witnesses or had undertaken an independent investigation of the relevant evidence. Additionally, Stein never had represented a defendant in a capital case, and there was nothing in the record establishing his experience or qualifications in homicide cases. Balanced against Stein's familiarity with defendant, and with some of the evidence in the case, was the circumstance of Newton's undisputed excellent reputation as a trial attorney and his qualifications as a criminal law specialist who previously had tried capital cases. Unlike the newly appointed counsel in Harris v. Superior Court, supra, 19 Cal.3d 786, who supported the reappointment of the defendants' former counsel, Newton sought the appointment, advising the court that he did not discern any conflict of interest. Moreover, when questioned regarding his desire to be represented by Stein, defendant did not indicate that he disagreed with Newton regarding trial tactics or any other aspect of his defense. Under these circumstances, Judge Mills's appointment of Newton instead of Stein, and Judge McGinley's denial of Stein's application for reappointment, constituted proper exercises of discretion. Defendant contends the record reflects Judge McGinley both failed properly to exercise his discretion in ruling on Stein's application, having conducted the hearing under a misconception that the sole issue was whether Judge Mills had committed an abuse of discretion in appointing Newton, and failed to determine independently the suitability of Stein's requested reappointment. The record belies defendant's contention. Judge McGinley properly determined that Newton's appointment had been made pending an independent review of Stein's application for reappointment. The determination of the propriety of Newton's appointment in place of Stein necessarily involved consideration of the matters presented in support of Stein's application. Only after the court stated it had reviewed Stein's application and the supporting declarations and points and authorities, and permitted Stein as well as defendant to speak in support of the attorney's reappointment, did the court deny Stein's application. Our conclusion that Judge McGinley properly considered Stein's application for reappointment, and that the denial of the application did not constitute an abuse of discretion, precludes defendant's related claim that Judge Mills erroneously determined that Judge McGinley's ruling was binding upon Mills. Judge Mills properly determined that the issue of Stein's appointment had been resolved at the hearing before Judge McGinley and was not subject to independent review by another trial court judge. Defendant finally contends that under People v. Chavez, supra, 26 Cal.3d 334, he was entitled to an evidentiary hearing on his request for the reappointment of Stein. Chavez simply holds, however, that an indigent defendant desiring the appointment of particular counsel is entitled to be heard on the reasons for his or her preference and to explain the circumstances that might warrant the continued appointment of former counsel. (26 Cal.3d at pp. 347-348.) The record reflects that defendant was provided ample opportunity and did present before both Judge Mills and Judge McGinley his reasons for seeking Stein's reappointment. For these reasons, we conclude the record fails to support defendant's contention that the trial court's appointment of Newton as defendant's attorney in place of Stein abridged defendant's right to counsel or otherwise constituted an abuse of discretion.