Garcia Hearing Law and Legal Definition
Garcia hearing refers to hearing held under criminal procedure to ensure that a defendant who is one of two or more defendants represented by the same attorney realizes the following :
1.that there is a risk of conflict of interest inherent in the joint representation ;
2.that s/he is entitled to the services of an attorney who does not represent anyone else in the defendant’s case.
The principle of Garcia hearing was derived from the case of Unites States v. Garcia, 517 F.2d 272 (5th Cir. 1975) where it was held that a defendant may waive his/her right to conflict-free counsel after thorough consultation with a trial court provided that s/he knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waives that right.
