United States Seventh Circuit

District court's disqualification of defendant's retained counsel from representing him in a prosecution for conspiracy to distribute cocaine because the attorney was also representing an alleged co-conspirator in sentencing proceedings is reversed and remanded for retrial as the district court's disqualification order violated defendant's Sixth Amendment right to choose his own counsel, and, under Gonzalez-Lopez, this constitutional violation is a structural error not subject to review for harmlessness.

Appellate Information

• Argued 01/20/2009
• Decided 02/02/2010
• Published 02/02/2010

Judges

• SYKES, Circuit Judge., Before EASTERBROOK, Chief Judge, SYKES, Circuit Judge, and KENDALL, District Judge.

Court

• United States Seventh Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Michael C. Carr, Office of the United States Attorney, Benton, IL, Ranley R. Killian, Jr., Office of the United States Attorney, Fairview Heights, IL, for Plaintiff-Appellee., Christopher J. Coulson, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Chicago, IL, for Defendant-Appellant.