CONSTITUTIONAL LAW - CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE - RIGHT TO EFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL

Robbery of a Federal Reserve Bank and jeopardizing lives by the use of dangerous weapons were the charges brought against defendant in a federal district court. Ten months after being taken into custody, he was finally brought to trial. On the latter date, for the first time, the defendant expressed to the court a desire to engage different counsel because of recent difficulties he had had with his original choice. The defendant was the complaining petitioner in a pending disbarment proceeding against his attorney. But the record did not show that the defendant disclosed the nature of those differences to the trial court, nor that the judge made any effort to ascertain what they were. The court refused the request, even though the attorney offered to withdraw. Conviction was followed by the imposition of a thirty-five year sentence. Defendant appealed from an order of the district court denying his unverified petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Held, defendant was not denied the constitutional right to assistance of counsel. McDonald v. Hudspeth, (C. C. A. 10th, 1940) 113 F. ( 2d) 984, certiorari denied (U. S. 1940) 61 S. Ct. 64