A federal judge told Brian Kenneth Hicks he has a right to an attorney but that he does not have an absolute right to choose his lawyer.
For the third time, Hicks tried to have his attorney — currently Leslee Barnicle — removed from his drug- trafficking case over “irreconcilable differences.”
“Mr. Hicks has had friction with every lawyer,” Chief U.S. District Judge Wiley Daniel said during Wednesday’s hearing. “I’d be startled if I didn’t hear complaints about any lawyer appointed to represent him.”
Hicks is accused of being a drug kingpin who had control over the Elite Eight, a Denver gang that prosecutors say distributed crack cocaine in the metro area.
Daniel denied Hicks’ motion to dump his lawyer but will allow Barnicle to bring in a second attorney. Felisa Cardona, The Denver Post
