Lytle v. State
Annotate this CaseDefendant, a seventeen-year-old, was found guilty of felony murder and several other offenses in connection with a shooting death. On appeal, defendant contended that he was unfairly denied his right to conflict-free counsel; that the trial court erred in failing to conduct a hearing regarding his competence to stand trial; and that his trial counsel was ineffective. The court held that defendant's speculation that a conflict of interest necessarily arose simply because a single investigator was used and because multiple co-indictees were represented by the same public defender's office was insufficient as a matter of law to show that an actual conflict existed. The court also held that the trial court did not err by failing to hold a hearing regarding defendant's competency where defendant did not present any information to the trial court that should reasonably have raised a doubt about his competency and alerted the trial court to the possibility that he could neither understand the proceedings, appreciate their significance, nor rationally aid his attorney in his defense. The court further held that defendant's ineffective assistance of counsel claim was without merit. Accordingly, the judgment was affirmed.
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