COUNTY COURT DID NOT CONDUCT AN ADEQUATE INQUIRY INTO DEFENDANT’S COMPLAINTS ABOUT DEFENSE COUNSEL, CONVICTION REVERSED; TWO-JUSTICE DISSENT (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department, reversing defendant’s conviction, over a two-justice dissent, determined County Court should have conducted a minimal inquiry to address defendant’s complaints about defense counsel. The dissenters argued County Court had, in fact, conducted an adequate inquiry:

… [W]e conclude that defendant’s complaints were sufficiently serious to trigger the court’s duty to inquire … . Indeed, the complaints suggested on their face the possibility of a complete breakdown of communication with defense counsel, either owing to or exacerbated by defense counsel’s alleged unwillingness to respond to any of defendant’s repeated inquiries over nearly 12 months of representation; were evidenced by defendant’s apparent confusion over the status of the separate indictments; and were never refuted by defense counsel, who remained silent in response to defendant’s repeated in-court complaints … . Further, the court itself appeared to acknowledge that defendant’s complaints, if true, established that there was “a problem” with the representation.

Thus, the court had a duty to conduct a minimal inquiry, which the court failed to do … .

From the dissent:

… [T]his is not a case where the court “erred by failing to ask even a single question about the nature of the disagreement or its potential for resolution” … . Instead, because the court “repeatedly allowed defendant to air his concerns about defense counsel” and reasonably concluded after listening to those concerns that they “were insufficient to demonstrate good cause for substitution of counsel” … , we would affirm. People v Robinson, 2021 NY Slip Op 03939, Fourth Dept 6-17-21