Yorn

We issued an alternative writ of mandamus in order to examine the questions presented by the pretrial order disqualifying petitioner’s privately retained counsel in a criminal proceeding. We *672 conclude that neither jurisdictional excess nor abuse of discretion is manifested as claimed. Accordingly, the relief requested is denied.

Facts

The record discloses the following salient circumstances:

Petitioner Yorn and real party Hesemeyer are codefendants in a grand jury indictment charging them with crimes of conspiracy (Pen. Code, § 182), embezzlement (Pen. Code, § 504) and grand theft (Pen. Code, § 487, subd. 1); Yorn is additionally charged with fraudulently issuing worthless checks (Pen. Code, § 476a); the charges stem from a series of escrow transactions over a several months’ period involving aggregate disbursements of $433,000 made to Yorn by Hesemeyer as local manager of National American Title Insurance Company (hereafter National). Hesemeyer filed a pretrial motion to disqualify Yorn’s privately retained defense counsel, Charles O. Morgan, Jr., on grounds of a prior attorney-client relationship and conflict of interests. In her supporting declaration…