United States v. Henry Garcia, Jr.

Appellant Henry Garcia, Jr. was indicted by a federal grand jury for various offenses relating to his participation in drug trafficking activities. Garcia was tried and convicted of a total of thirteen counts at three separate trials. He now appeals the convictions obtained at his first two trials.

Garcia first argues that the district court erred in denying his motion to appoint substitute counsel prior to his first trial, and in failing to conduct an in camera hearing regarding this request. Garcia requested substitute counsel because of a claimed conflict between himself and counsel. His counsel also moved to withdraw. We hold the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying appellant’s motion to substitute counsel a few days before the trial was scheduled to begin.

In reviewing a lower court’s denial of substitution, we evaluate three factors: the timeliness of the motion, the adequacy of the lower court’s inquiry into the defendant’s complaint, and whether the asserted conflict created a total lack of communication such that the defendant was unable to present an adequate defense. United States v. Gonzalez, 800 F.2d 895, 898 (9th Cir.1986). Each of these factors…