Conviction Upset Over Lawyer Issue

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.