Longjaw v. State, 288 P.3d 210

Longjaw was convicted by jury of aggravated burglary and sexual intercourse without consent in the Fourth Judicial District Court.
Standby counsel raised a potential conflict because a key witness had prior representation by the public defender’s office; the court did not conduct a full conflict inquiry.
During jury deliberations the court modified jury instruction 7 from 'enters and remains unlawfully' to 'enters or remains unlawfully' and similarly altered instruction 8.
Longjaw eventually represented himself at trial after the court denied his request for self-representation; Kilby and Hood served as standby counsel.
The State conceded reversible error on the instruction issue, leading to reversal of the aggravated burglary conviction, while the sexual intercourse without consent conviction was affirmed; the matter was remanded for an amended judgment.
On the remaining issues, the court held there was no actual standby-counsel conflict warranting reversal of the sexual conviction, and the ineffective-assistance claim regarding an independent medical expert could not be reviewed on direct appeal and must pursue postconviction relief.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Standby counsel conflict reversibility	Longjaw argues standby counsel had an actual conflict mandating reversal.	Longjaw contends conflict affected representation.	No actual conflict; reversal not required on sexual conviction
Ineffective assistance for not obtaining medical expert	Longjaw asserts failure to obtain independent medical opinion prejudiced defense.	Counsel's failure constitutes ineffective assistance.	Not reviewable on direct appeal; pursue postconviction relief

State v. St. Dennis, 2010 MT 229 (Mont. 2010) (conflict-free representation; case-by-case approach for public defenders)
Holloway v. Arkansas, 435 U.S. 475 (1984) (automatic reversal when conflict of interest infringes Sixth Amendment)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984) (two-pronged test for ineffective assistance)
State v. Deschon, 2004 MT 32, 320 Mont. 1, 85 P.3d 756 (Mont. 2004) (ineffective-assistance framework; record-based review limitations)
State v. St. Dennis, 2010 MT 229, 358 Mont. 88, 244 P.3d 292 (Mont. 2010) (conflict-free representation; case-by-case approach for OPD conflicts)
State v. Dethman, 2010 MT 268, 358 Mont. 384, 245 P.3d 30 (Mont. 2010) (adequate initial inquiry into allegations of conflict)
State v. Happel, 2010 MT 200, 357 Mont. 390, 240 P.3d 1016 (Mont. 2010) (initial inquiry into conflicts and representational adequacy)
McDonald v. Washington, 22 P.3d 791 (Wash. 2001) (standby counsel conflicts require inquiry; prejudice presumed when actual conflict)