What is the scope of a defendant's right to select his own lawyer?

We are mindful that "the essential aim of the [Sixth] Amendment is to guarantee an effective advocate for each criminal defendant rather than to ensure that a defendant will inexorably be represented by the lawyer whom he prefers." Wheat v. United States, 486 U.S. 153, 159, 108 S.Ct. 1692, 1697, 100 L.Ed.2d 140 (1988). Thus, the Sixth Amendment right to select one's counsel may be limited in several important respects: a defendant is not entitled to representation by one who is not a licensed attorney; the counsel cannot be involved in a previous or ongoing relationship with an opposing party; and a defendant is not entitled to an attorney he or she cannot afford or who for other reasons declines to represent the defendant. Id. We hold that the right is not so limited, however, that the availability of adequate replacement counsel allows the government effectively to veto defendant's choice of counsel by intentionally undermining his confidence in the attorney-client relationship through disparagement. ²