Burrell
United States v. Burrell
Opinion
Lead Opinion
MEMORANDUM *
*778 Stephen Burrell appeals his jury trial conviction and sentence as a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922 (g). Burrell contends that the district court erred by refusing to appoint new counsel after he developed an irreconcilable conflict with his court-appointed attorney, by denying his motion for a new trial after his trial counsel was ineffective, and by denying him effective assistance of counsel because his attorney made several errors before and during trial. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.
A. Substitution of Counsel
The district court’s denial of a motion for substitution of counsel is reviewed for abuse of discretion. United States v. Corona-Garcia, 210 F.3d 973, 976 (9th Cir.2000). We focus on three considerations when evaluating whether a defendant was wrongly denied the opportunity to substitute counsel: 1) whether the district court’s inquiry on the matter was adequate; 2) the extent of the conflict between the defendant and counsel; and 3) the timeliness of the motion weighed against any inconvenience or delay that would result from granting the motion. Id.