To complicate the issue of Conflict Free Representation for Harlow Cuadra even further, the Private Lawyer William Ruzzo who was hired by Harlow Cuadra ALSO is a part-time Public Defender for the Luzerne County Public Defender’s Office.

If you read news reports out of Luzerne County today, you would never suspect that the accused Harlow Cuadra was actually represented in a death penalty murder case by the victim’s (Bryan Kocis’) Lawyers Jonathan Blum and Al Flora, Jr.

If you look at news reports today out of Luzerne County, you would think that there isn’t any CRISIS in the prosecution of Harlow Cuadra. It appears that motion papers have been filed in Luzerne County Court by William Ruzzo and Thomas S. Cometa on behalf of Harlow Cuadra as if there was never any problems about the Luzerne County Public Defender’s Offic representing Harlow Cuadra. It appears that The Luzerne County Public Defender’s Office has decided to pay for the Private Attorneys Harlow Cuadra originally chose to hire in an attempt to defeat the Luzerne County DA’s Motion to Disqualfy the Public Defender’s Office from representing Harlow Cuadra.

Attorneys for homicide suspect Harlow Cuadra want his trial postponed … The attorneys, William Ruzzo and John Donovan, are members of the Luzerne County Public Defender’s Office . They said they need more time to prepare … They also want more time to file pre-trial motions. Citizens Voice and Times Leader

Waiver of Conflict Free Representation STILL Required from Harlow Cuadra

While it appears that The Luzerne County Public Defender’s Office has decided to pay for the private lawyers that Harlow Cuadra originally chose to hire, a waiver of conflict free representation would still be required from Harlow Cuadra (in re The Luzerne County DA’s Motion to Disqualify the Public Defender’s Office) in order for the lawyer Ruzzo to be paid by The Public Defender to represent Harlow Cuadra.

If Jackie Musto-Carroll saw nothing wrong with Harlow Cuadra waiving his right to Conflict Free Representation so that William Ruzzo could be paid by The Luzerne County Public Defender’s Office to represent Cuadra, WHY would she have initiated the motion to Disqualify The Public Defender’s Office in the first place?

It is also POSSIBLE that Muto-Carroll’s motion to Disqualify the Public Defender’s Offic may have been aimed at William Ruzzo all along. The Luzerne County DA had to know that Williiam Ruzzo was a part-time lawyer for the Luzerne County Public Defender’s Office

Inspite of the fact that Harlow Cuadra chose to hire William Ruzzo and inspite of whether Cuadra has now signed a Waiver of his right to Conflict Free Counsel so that The Luzerne County Public Defender’s Office can PAY Ruzzo to represent Cuadra, there is still a problem with Conflict Free Representation for Harlow Cuadra.

THIS IS A DEATH PENALTY MURDER CASE.

Is Jackie Musto-Carroll going to begin her political career with this kind of messiness over “Conflict Free Representation” for the accused?

I think not.

Musto-Carroll’s motion to Disqualify The Luzerne County Public Defender’s Office STILL applys to William Ruzzo if Ruzzo is being paid by The Luzerne County Public Defender’s Office, even if Cuadra has now executed a waiver of his right to conflict free representation.

FROM WHERE WE SIT, given what has happened with the representation of Harlow Cuadra with respect to Jonathan Blum and Al Flora (Bryan Kocis’ Lawyers) being asked to represent Cuadra, it would be difficult for The State to make a persuasive argument to a court of appeals That Harlow Cuadra Voluntarily Waived His Right To Conflict Free Representation Without Coercion. Of course, most Prosecutors don’t get if they get convictions that are guaranteed to be reversed.

Clearly, a persuasive argument can be made in appealing any verdict against Cuadra that Cuadra was forced to waive his right to Conflict Free Counsel under the THREAT that Cuadra would be represented by Bryan Kocis’ Lawyers if he did not executed a waiver.

The Even bigger question I have is why William Ruzzo did not file a motion to dismiss all charges against Harlow Cuadra as a result of the Conflict Free Representation issue?

Why is William Ruzzo acting as if there was never any crisis with respect to Conflict Free Representation for Harlow Cuadra?