State v. Cozart, 260 N.C.App. 96, 817 S.E.2d 599 (Jun. 19, 2018)

In this sexual assault case, the trial court did not err by failing to appoint substitute defense counsel. Absent a Sixth Amendment violation, the decision of whether appointed counsel should be replaced is a discretionary one for the trial court. Here, the defendant informed the trial court that his family was attempting to hire an attorney for him and that he was unhappy with the amount of contact and visitation trial counsel had with him before trial and with counsel’s discussion of a plea agreement with him. The court determined that this record did not suggest an abuse of discretion in connection with the denial of the defendant’s motion to discharge appointed counsel.