Whether the Sixth Amendment right to counsel of choice was violated

QUESTIONS PRESENTED 1. Whether the Sixth Amendment right to counsel of choice was violated when a state court issued an order which froze the defendant’s lawfully acquired personal assets, and thereby deprived the defendant of access to the funds he needed to exercise his Sixth Amendment right to retain counsel of his choice to represent him in connection with a criminal prosecution where he was charged with murdering his wife. 2. Whether the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (“(AEDPA”) standard of deference to a state court ruling on a federal constitutional claim applies when the only state court “merits” ruling substituted the Sixth Amendment indigent right to counsel for the Sixth Amendment right to counsel of choice. ii