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Denial of Motion to Withdraw Faretta Waiver Structural Error

By Jeremy Price

In a serious drug prosecution, the defendant asserted his Sixth Amendment right to represent himself pursuant to Faretta v. California (1975) 422 U.S. 806. During jury selection he changed his mind and asked the trial court to appoint counsel on his behalf. The trial court denied that request as well as a second one. Although criminal defendants do not have an absolute right to withdraw Faretta waivers and reassert the right to counsel, under the circumstances of this case, Division Seven of the Second District Court of Appeal concluded that the trial court abused its discretion in denying the defendant's requests for counsel on the first day of trial. The trial court denied the defendant's second request to withdraw his Faretta waiver because it found that the jury had already been selected and sworn, the delay would be disruptive to the codefendant, and the defendant's prior attorney was still engaged in trial and unavailable...continue to full post

Full post as published by Criminal Appeal on January 09, 2008 (boomark / email).