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Name: People v. Vera
Case #: H026350
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 6 DCA
Opinion Date: 09/29/2004
Summary

After appellant entered a guilty plea to felony battery, he expressed dissatisfaction with his appointed counsel. The court began a hearing on his complaints, but was interrupted when a jury arrived on another case. Based on the complaints heard prior to the interruption, the court denied appellant’s Marsden motion without prejudice, advising appellant that he could renew his motion at the next hearing. Appellant did not renew his motion. On appeal, appellant contended that his Marsden motion was improperly denied, and that the trial court’s inquiry was inadequate. The appellate court disagreed and affirmed. While a trial court is required to inquire into all of a defendant’s complaints about an appointed counsel, the inquiry need not occur in a single hearing. Here, appellant abandoned his unstated complaints about counsel by not accepting the court’s invitation to present them at a later hearing. Further, no certificate of probable cause was required to challenge the denial of the post-plea Marsden motion.