Baylis

Defendant Patrick Baylis appeals from a judgment entered following his conviction of four counts of rape and four other charges. He contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion to substitute retained counsel Richard Hove for his appointed counsel. The trial court denied the motion because attorney Hove had an actual conflict of interest in that Hove had previously represented defendant’s brother, Rodney Baylis, in prosecutions for two other sexual assaults. Rodney Baylis had also previously been charged with the very offenses involved in defendant’s case. Defendant’s anticipated trial strategy was to implicate his brother in the offenses. In the published portion of the decision, we hold that in these unusual circumstances the trial court did not abuse its discretion or violate defendant’s right to counsel by denying the motion to substitute attorneys. In the unpublished portion of the decision, we reject defendant’s instructional claims and his claims under Blakely v. Washington (2004) 542 U.S. 296 [ 159 L.Ed.2d 403 , 124 S.Ct. 2531 ].

Procedural Background

In October 2003, the District Attorney for the County of Alameda filed a second amended information…