State v. Smith, 241 N.C. App. 619 (Jun. 16, 2015)

Where appointed counsel was allowed to withdraw, on the sixth day of a bribery trial, pursuant to Comment 3 of Rule 1.16(a) of the N.C. Rules of Professional Conduct, the court rejected the defendant’s argument that private counsel retained after this incident was presumptively ineffective given the limited time he had to review the case. The defendant noted that new counsel entered the case on the seventh day of trial and requested only a four-hour recess to prepare. Given the status of the trial and the limited work to be done, the court rejected the defendant’s argument. The court also rejected the defendant’s argument that new counsel rendered deficient performance by failing to request a longer or an additional continuance.