State v. Justus, 392 S.C. 416

Appellant Kenneth Harry Justus murdered Justin Bregenzer in July 2005 while serving two consecutive life sentences for prior murders.
Trial court originally appointed second-chair counsel Maite Murphy in October 2005, but she was removed after a conflict-of-interest inquiry related to Murphy's representation of a potential witness (Tim Stevenson).
Stevenson testified Murphy had represented him in a divorce; Murphy claimed she finished representation with the separation agreement and had not formally withdrawn.
The trial court found a potential conflict and disqualified Murphy, appointing new second-chair counsel; this occurred more than two years before Justus pled guilty in December 2008.
Justus pleaded guilty to murder; sentencing included a death sentence based on a prior murder conviction as an aggravating factor.
On appeal, Justus challenged the trial court’s disqualification ruling as an abuse of discretion; the Supreme Court affirmed, noting substantial death-penalty background counsel and a guilty-plea strategy.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the trial court abused its discretion in disqualifying Murphy.	Justus argues Murphy’s conflict required continued representation.	State contends the court acted within discretion given the potential conflict.	No abuse; disqualification affirmed.

State v. Gregory, 364 S.C. 150, 612 S.E.2d 449 (2005) (conflict-of-interest concerns when counsel has divided loyalties)
State v. Graddick, 345 S.E.2d 210 (2001) (standard for relieving counsel; not exhaustive on conflicts)
State v. Blair, 275 S.C. 529, 273 S.E.2d 536 (1981) (competence and proceeding to plead guilty; admissible mitigation considerations)
State v. Motts, 391 S.C. 635, 707 S.E.2d 804 (2011) (proportionality review; prior murder conviction as aggravator)
State v. Atkins, 303 S.C. 214, 399 S.E.2d 760 (1990) (death sentence proportionality framework)