On April 20, 2017, William Davis was charged with several traffic offenses. The court appointed a public defender, but the trial was delayed due to scheduling conflicts and incomplete investigation. When the trial eventually began, Davis requested a continuance because his public defender had another trial on the same day, but the court denied the request. The jury convicted Davis, but an appellate court later reversed the decision because indigent defendants have a constitutional right to continued representation by appointed counsel. The Colorado Supreme Court agreed that the trial court should have considered whether Davis would be prejudiced if his public defender was replaced and concluded that he would not be.
The Sixth Amendment case law changes again. Defendants right to counsel paramount, even with appointed counsel. Even an indigent client must be allowed their attorney of choice as much as humanly possible (but not always).
