United States v. Cardona-Vicenty, No. 15-1065 (1st Cir. 2016)
Annotate this CaseDefendant pled guilty to conspiring to distribute narcotics near three public housing projects and possessing a firearm in furtherance of the drug trafficking offense. Defendant was appointed new counsel for sentencing purposes after accusing his first lawyer of coercing him into accepting a plea agreement. The new counsel also represented a co-defendant in the drug trafficking conspiracy. Defendant appealed his sentence, arguing that the assignment of new counsel resulted in a conflict of interest and that the district court erred in failing to hold a Foster hearing to addressed the alleged conflict. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that, even if a Foster inquiry was required, the government sufficiently demonstrated that any prejudice to Defendant was improbable because there was no actual conflict of interest.
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