{"id":14564,"date":"2017-03-28T13:36:04","date_gmt":"2017-03-28T20:36:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/criminal-defense-law\/?page_id=14564"},"modified":"2024-09-23T11:31:14","modified_gmt":"2024-09-23T18:31:14","slug":"attorney-withdraw-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/criminal-defense-law\/blog\/attorney-withdraw-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Would an Attorney Withdraw from a Criminal Case in Arizona?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/h2>\n

A high profile example of why an attorney would withdraw from a case can be seen in the court proceedings involving Arizona’s most notorious Sheriff.<\/p>\n

In 2014, the court proceedings involving former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio were all over the media.<\/p>\n

The events came to a head when Arpaio’s lawyer asked to withdraw from the case.<\/p>\n

The attorney representing Arpaio in his contempt trial, Tim Casey, submitted a motion to Judge Murray Snow asking for approval to withdraw from the case.<\/a> Casey stated that he was \u201cethically required\u201d to do so.<\/p>\n

Karen Clark, legal counsel for Casey, said that the withdraw request came in response to a testimony given by the Sheriff<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In the testimony, Arpaio reportedly disclosed that Casey had hired a private investigator to confirm statements allegedly made by Judge Snow\u2019s wife, who was accused of saying that her husband \u201cwanted to do everything to make sure [Arpaio] is not elected.\u201d<\/p>\n

To further complicate the matter, Arpaio\u2019s Chief Deputy, Jerry Sheridan, apparently made a separate testimony in which he stated that there was no private investigation into Judge Snow or any members of his family.<\/p>\n

When it became known that Casey had acted outside the rules of professional conduct, he felt obligated to file a motion to withdraw, but there are other reasons an attorney may withdraw as well.<\/p>\n

Can an Attorney Fire or Drop a Client?<\/h2>\n

As a client, you have the luxury of firing your attorney at any time for any reason under the sun.<\/p>\n

Attorneys, however, are not offered the same privilege.<\/p>\n

If an attorney wants to withdraw from a case, they must have a valid reason to do so.<\/p>\n

There are some circumstances in which an attorney is ethically required to withdraw from a case and other situations when an attorney may apply to do so with a valid reason.<\/p>\n

When is an Attorney Ethically Required to Withdraw From a Case?<\/h2>\n

A lawyer may be legally required to withdraw from a case if the following applies:<\/p>\n