Whether district courts and parties in criminal cases can establish a uniform standard for addressing conflicts of interest in attorney representation that potentially violate a defendant's Sixth Amendment right to conflict-free counsel

District courts and parties in criminal cases do not have a standard way to address conflicts of interest when a defendant’s attorney has previously represented a codefendant or witness in the same case. The absence of clear procedural guidelines has lead to a division among the circuits on how the 6th Amendment right to “conflict free” counsel is applied resulting in situations where some criminal defendants are denied their right to “conflict free” counsel; unable to make voluntary and informed waivers of conflict; or worse, injured by less than candid counsel.