Court Opinion

ID: 9490815
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 13:55:23.625557+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:54:19.968770
License: Public Domain

RIPPLE, Circuit Judge,
concurring.
I join the judgment and the opinion of the court. I write only to emphasize that the district court’s truncated treatment of defense counsel’s motion to withdraw would not pass muster under circumstances other than the unique ones presented here. See United States v. Zillges, 978 F.2d 369, 371-73 (7th Cir.1992).
It is important to note that, although the defense had noticed the motion for January 9, neither Mr. Simmons nor his attorney appeared. Mr. Simmons therefore waived an opportunity to expand further on the basis of his unhappiness with counsel. The motion was sufficiently detailed for the court to act, and the representations made by the defendant at the change of plea hearing, only days before, clearly contradicted the claim put forth in the motion that counsel had not acted in Mr. Simmons’ best interest. Moreover, there was no evidence in the record of an irreconcilable conflict or total lack of communication.
Mr. Simmons never asked for another opportunity to apprise the court of any circumstances not disclosed by the record already before the court. Moreover, as the court’s opinion notes, Mr. Simmons cannot identify any prejudice he suffered as a result of the court’s decision. Therefore, if there was error, it was harmless because it did “not result in a violation of ... defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel.” Zillges, 978 F.2d at 372.
Given these unusual facts, it would be a mistake for the bench and bar to read our holding today as a retreat from the standards we traditionally have maintained when reviewing a district court’s hearing on the adequacy of representation. See United States v. Brown, 79 F.3d 1499, 1505-07 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 117 S.Ct. 196, 136 L.Ed.2d 133 (1996). Under the unique circumstances presented here, any shortcoming of the district court’s inquiry was harmless.