Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Arising from a Conflict of Interest
Effective assistance by
counsel requires that counsel be competent. However, effective assistance
involves more; it also requires counsel to give the accused’s cause her
undivided loyalty, which is a prerequisite to proper legal representation.
R. v. W. (W.) (1995), 25 O.R. (3d) 161 (C.A.), at pp. 171-72.
To establish a lack of
effective assistance based on counsel’s conflict of interest, the appellant
must demonstrate
(i)
an actual conflict of
interest between the respective interests represented by his counsel, and
(ii)
as a result of that
conflict, some impairment of counsel’s ability to effectively represent the
appellant’s interests. The appellant need not demonstrate that, but for the
ineffective representation of counsel, the verdict would have been different
W. (W.), at p.
173; see also R. v. Baharloo, 2017
ONCA 362.
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