Barboza

I concur in the result reached by the majority, but I would reverse the judgment because the contract between Madera County and the public defender created so fundamental a conflict of interest as to deprive all defendants jointly represented by that office of the right to counsel under article I, section 15 of the California Constitution.

*382 Since the public defender’s compensation would have been directly reduced by the cost of employing private counsel when a conflict arose among codefendants, he had a direct interest in avoiding this financial penalty. As a result, the public defender could not be expected to investigate possible conflicts of interest or to give codefendants unbiased advice concerning their right to separate counsel when a conflict was evident. The public defender’s financial interests conflicted with his clients’ right to counsel.

We examine the legal effects of a contract between the County of Madera and a public defender which provides financial disincentives for the defender to ascertain conflicts of interest which may arise when counsel represents multiple defendants being tried together on criminal charges. We will conclude that because of conflicts arising from the contract itself, the defendants’ convictions must be reversed.

Defendant brothers, Rodolfo and Alberto Barboza, were charged in an information filed in the Superior Court of Madera County with assault with a deadly weapon or force likely to produce great bodily injury. (Pen. Code, § 245, subd. (a).) On March 23, 1978, defendants appeared for arraignment and the case was continued to the following day for the appointment of counsel and an interpreter. Although the record does not reflect the formal appointment of counsel, defendants, jointly represented by an attorney from the office of the Public Defend *378 er of Madera County, were thereupon arraigned and pleaded not guilty to the charge. After a jury trial, each defendant was convicted as charged and sentenced to the middle term for the offense.

We need not recite the…

We examine the legal effects of a contract between the County of Madera and a public defender which provides financial disincentives for the defender to ascertain conflicts of interest which may arise when counsel represents multiple defendants being tried together on criminal charges. We will conclude that because of conflicts arising from the contract itself, the defendants' convictions must be reversed.

Defendant brothers, Rodolfo and Alberto Barboza, were charged in an information filed in the Superior Court of Madera County with assault with a deadly weapon or force likely to produce great bodily injury. (Pen. Code, § 245, subd. (a).) On March 23, 1978, defendants appeared for arraignment and the case was continued to the following day for the appointment of counsel and an interpreter. Although the record does not reflect the formal appointment of counsel, defendants, jointly represented by an attorney from the office of the Public Defender of Madera County, were thereupon arraigned and pleaded not guilty to the charge. After a jury trial, each defendant was convicted as charged and sentenced to the middle term for the offense.

We need not recite…