New attorney, new questions in Mendoza case

Montrose Daily Press Online: "A new defense attorney will represent Cimarron Mendoza in his bid to withdraw his guilty plea.

Mendoza appeared in district court Feb. 26 to be sentenced for assaulting a police officer. Instead, he asked that his public defender be removed from the case and for the plea to be withdrawn.

Public defender Harvey Palefsky’s removal from the case Wednesday immediately raised serious questions of attorney-client privilege and the possibility that he could be called as a witness for the prosecution.

“I do have some concerns about attorney-client privilege,” Palefsky said, explaining that Mendoza referred to possibly privileged communication in his written request for new counsel."