J. M. F. v. Angel Quiros, Commissioner, Connecticut Department of Correction

The Si x th A mendment to the Unit ed Stat es Constitution guarantees to criminal defendants the right to counsel. The right to counsel is the right to effective counsel. Effective counsel is conflict-free counsel. When an attorney has an personal interest opposed to that of a client, he may refrain from zealous advocacy. The Petitioner was defended in his criminal trial by an attorney whom he had previously threatened to sue for legal malpractice for an error in handling another matter. The question presented is: Whether the threat of a civil action by a criminal defendant against his attorney is a per se denial of the right to the effective of counsel guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution, and thus does not require a defendant to make a showing of the attorney’s deficient performance or prejudice in order to vacate his conviction.