The appellate court held the trial court erred in denying defendants Faretta (Farretta v. California (1975) 422 U.S. 806) motion. Defendant had been found competent to stand trial, and thus was competent to waive counsel and represent himself. Moreover, there was no evidence to the contrary that defendants request was voluntary, knowing, and intelligent. Also, the request, made five days before trial was scheduled to start, was timely as judged by the weight of the case law. The record did not support the trial courts conclusion that the request was made for the purposes of delay. The trial court did not inquire why defendant wanted to represent himself, so there was no evidence to support the conclusion defendant was delaying. Defendant did not ask for a continuance.
Case Summaries