Opinion ID: 63783
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Choice of Counsel.(1) Waiver

Text: Before reaching the merits of Guerrero's choice of counsel claim, we must again consider if he has waived his right of appeal with his guilty plea. Guerrero argues that he was denied his choice of counsel when Womack was disqualified. This argument does not raise a jurisdictional defect. The Supreme Court, however, has recently held that the erroneous deprivation of the right to counsel of choice is a structural error in violation of the Sixth Amendment and is not subject to harmless-error analysis. United States v. Gonzalez-Lopez, 548 U.S. 140, 150-52, 126 S.Ct. 2557, 165 L.Ed.2d 409 (2006). Other structural errors include the denial of counsel, the denial of the right of self-representation, and the denial of the right to a public trial. Id. at 149, 126 S.Ct. 2557. In Gonzalez-Lopez, the Court specifically noted that: [T]he choice of attorney will affect whether and on what terms the defendant cooperates with the prosecution, plea bargains, or decides instead to go to trial. In light of these myriad aspects of representation, the erroneous denial of counsel bears directly on the framework within which the trial proceeds, or indeed on whether it proceeds at all .... Many counseled decisions, including those involving plea bargains and cooperation with the government, do not even concern the conduct of trial at all. Id. at 150, 126 S.Ct. 2557 (internal quotation omitted). Because Gonzalez-Lopez had been erroneously denied the counsel of his choice, the Supreme Court reversed his conviction and remanded the case for a new trial. While Gonzalez-Lopez involved a trial rather than a guilty plea, it is obvious that the choice of counsel may seriously impact a defendant's decision to plead guilty. If a defendant is erroneously denied the counsel of his choice, it is a structural error in the trial that brings into question the voluntary and intelligent character of the guilty plea itself. See Tollett v. Henderson, 411 U.S. 258, 267, 93 S.Ct. 1602, 36 L.Ed.2d 235 (1973). But it is not subject to harmless-error analysis, as that would be a speculative inquiry into what might have occurred in an alternate universe. Gonzalez-Lopez, 548 U.S. at 150, 126 S.Ct. 2557. As such, even in cases where a defendant has pled guilty, we must consider whether the district court erroneously denied a defendant the right to his counsel of choice, and waiver will not apply.