United States v. Pike

In United States v. Pike, No. 22-51003, 2024 WL 1192222 (5th Cir. Mar. 20, 2024) (unpublished), the Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court’s decision to disqualify the defendant’s attorney, who had previously represented one of the Government’s potential witnesses.

Pike was the president of the Bandidos Outlaws Motorcycle Club, charged with multiple counts of RICO conspiracy. The district court disqualified Pike’s chosen defense counsel because that lawyer had previously represented Bandidos members, at least one of whom was a government informant and potential witness in Pike’s case.

Under the Sixth Amendment, there is a presumption in favor of a defendant’s choice of counsel, but that presumption can be overcome by either an actual conflict or “a showing of a serious potential for conflict.” Wheat v. United States, 486 U.S. 153, 159 (1988). Here, Pike’s chosen attorney previously “represented the government’s cooperating witnesses during the RICO conspiracy,” so there was “ample record evidence of a conflict to support the district court’s decision to disqualify here.”

In addition, the district court did not violate Pike’s due-process rights by permitting in camera proceedings and keeping the names of the Government witnesses concealed from the defense. The Fifth Circuit has “long permitted the use of in camera proceedings to determine whether an informant’s identity should be revealed.”