United States v. Robert D'Amore

Robert D’Amore appeals the district court’s denial of his request to substitute private counsel of his choosing for his court-appointed lawyer at his probation revocation hearing. We reverse and remand for a new hearing.

I

In September, 1998, the Government filed a Petition on Probation and Supervised Release seeking revocation of the defendant’s probation. The petition alleged that D’Amore had violated state law by obtaining money under false pretenses and had failed to follow a counseling program for a gambling addiction. A private attorney, Douglas Crawford, was appointed to represent D’Amore. The Government amended the petition to add further allegations on November 23, 1993. A bench warrant was then issued and D’Amore was detained pending his probation revocation hearing. At the stipulation of the parties, the hearing was then rescheduled for January 14, 1994, but that date was later changed by the court to January 28.

The day before the hearing, January 27, Crawford filed a motion requesting leave to withdraw as counsel to permit D’Amore to substitute retained counsel of his choosing. The court issued no formal ruling on the motion on January 27 and did not continue the…