Conviction Upset Over Lawyer Issue
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From a Times Staff Writer
SAN FRANCISCO — A man convicted of killing his sister-in-law had his conviction upset by the state Supreme Court Thursday because he was denied a lawyer of his choosing.
By a 4-3 margin, the state Supreme Court ruled in the Shasta County case that the trial judge should have delayed the trial to allow defendant Philip Courts to switch lawyers.
The right to a lawyer of one’s choosing is “fundamental” and must be honored, except in extreme circumstances, the majority said in an opinion by Chief Justice Rose Elizabeth Bird.
