In Re Formal Advisory Opinion 10-1

A single public defender's impermissible conflict of interest related to representing co-defendants is imputed to all public defenders working in the circuit public defender office of that particular judicial circuit.

Thank you for sharing!

Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided.

Responding to a letter from the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council GPDSC, the State Bar Formal Advisory Opinion Board Board issued Formal Advisory Opinion 10-1 FAO 10-1, in which the Board concluded that the standard for the imputation of conflicts of interest under Rule 1.10 a of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct applies to the office of a circuit public defender as it would to a private law firm. FAO 10-1 was published in the June 2010 issue of the Georgia Bar Journal and was filed in this Court on June 15, 2010. On July 5, 2010, the GPDSC filed a petition for discretionary review which this Court granted on January 18, 2011. The Court heard oral argument on January 10, 2012. For reasons set forth below, we conclude, as did the Board, that Rule 1.10 a applies to a circuit public defender office as it would to a private law firm, and pursuant to State Bar Rule 4.403 d, we hereby approve FAO 10-1 to the extent it so holds.1

1. At the heart of FAO 10-1 is the constitutional right to conflict-free counsel and the construction of Rule 1.10 a of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct. “Where a constitutional right to counsel exists, our Sixth Amendment cases hold that there is a correlative right to representation that is free from conflicts of interest.” Wood v. Georgia, 450 U.S. 261, 271 101 SC 1097, 67 LE2d 220 2008. Indeed, this Court has stated in no uncertain terms that, “Effective counsel is counsel free from conflicts of interest.” Garland v. State, 283 Ga. 201 657 SE2d 842 2008. In keeping with this unequivocal right to conflict-free representation, Rule 1.10 a provides as follows:

In Re Formal Advisory Opinion 10-1

A single public defender's impermissible conflict of interest related to representing co-defendants is imputed to all public defenders working in the circuit public defender office of that particular judicial circuit.

Share with Email

Thank you for sharing!

Trending Stories

More From ALM

Subscribe to Daily Report