RIGHT TO COUNSEL – Self Representation 

Posted: 1:00 am Mon, March 15, 2010
By admin
Tags: Right to Counsel

(1)Where a District Court advised a defendant against representing himself, advised him of the charges and range of punishment and made several inquiries about whether the defendant still wished to represent himself, the defendant’s invocation of his right to self representation was clear and unequivocal, and the District Court did not err in granting his request to proceed pro se even though the defendant admitted that his request was untimely and was made to disrupt court proceedings or obtain a continuance.

(2)Where a defendant’s attorneys, prior to his request to represent himself, did not seek an inquiry into his competence and the District Court had the opportunity to observe and interact with the defendant, a District Court is not required to investigate the competency of any defendant that requests to proceed pro se, so the court’s failure to hold a competency hearing did not violate the defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel. The conviction is affirmed over defendant’s challenges to the instructions and the sufficiency of the evidence. Judgment is affirmed.