Legal Definitions - Garcia hearing

Definition: A Garcia hearing is a legal proceeding held to ensure that a defendant who is one of two or more defendants represented by the same attorney understands two things:

1. The risk of a conflict of interest that comes with this type of representation
2. That they are entitled to the services of an attorney who does not represent anyone else in their case

For example, if two people are charged with a crime and they both hire the same lawyer, a Garcia hearing may be held to make sure that each defendant understands that their lawyer's loyalty may be divided between them. The hearing is named after a court case called United States v. Garcia, which established the need for this type of hearing.