Whether the Eighth Circuit's decision to uphold the disqualification of Petitioner's counsel of choice despite Petitioner's willingness to knowingly and intelligently waive any potential conflict of interest (1) deprived him of his constitutional right to representation by counsel of choice, (2) created a circuit split by applying standards conflicting with those employed by other Circuits examining potential conflicts of interest, and (3) allowed the Eighth Circuit to supplant its own reasoning for the district court's and thereby eliminate the abuse of discretion standard in cases involving disqualification of counsel of choice.

Whether the Eighth Circuit's decision to uphold the disqualification of Petitioner's counsel of choice deprived him of his constitutional right to representation by counsel of choice, created a circuit split by applying standards conflicting with those employed by other Circuits examining potential conflicts of interest, and allowed the Eighth Circuit to supplant its own reasoning for the district court's and thereby eliminate the abuse of discretion standard in cases involving disqualification of counsel of choice