Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

12021

Whats the timely matter to substitute a defense attorney into a pro per criminal case that is in trail court.No juror has been picked the judge has ruled on the da in limone motion.I was forced to file a marsden motion.The judge became mad because of that motion hence she denied my motion.I then claimed Faretta. I was granted it under one condition that I procede to trial in three days,mind you Ive had three previous attorney who literally did nothing to investigate the facts of my defense(in three years).Under duress,of being taken to trail without a full investigation of the facts of my case I agreed.The judge who granted me my faretta rights then told me that she would personally walk over to the calendar judge and tell him to grant me no continuance.Three days later I was in front of him with a motion to continue he denied it then whisked me out of his court room to trail court.That day in trail court I made a verbal continuance motion since I didnt have a invest igator he granted me a investigator and a three week continuance.Still looking for witnesses(Ive found one).I still need to investigate several police officers I need to reexamine the prints on gun.Prepare motions.Read prelim.Unsuccessful at 170.6 What can I do?


Asked on 4/27/09, 7:57 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Deirdre O'Connor Law Offices of Deirdre O'Connor

Re: 12021

You can always substitute an attorney in - the problem is whether the court will give the new attorney the time that s/he needs to prepare the case for trial.

Having said that, you really should get a lawyer (private or court-appointed); if that fails make sure you preserve the issue for appeal - you need to put your need for a lawyer and your inability to properly represent yourself throughout the proceedings (with details) on the record.

If you can't find a lawyer who will represent you for something you can afford, ask the judge for a court-appointed lawyer. When you make the request, make sure the record is clear that the ONLY reason you went pro per was because of the conflict with your previous lawyer (list all the reasons why the lawyer was ineffective). This should be done ex parte (outside the presence of the DA). And emphasis to the court that you now realize that you are not able to effectively represent yourself. If the judge offers to reappoint the same lawyer (which is likely) you'll need to decide which is worse - going it alone or having someone by your side.

If you take the same lawyer, you should try hard to establish a cooperative working relationship knowing that you can always renew your Marsden motion at the first sign of trouble. Write down all the reasons why you first made the Marsden motion and then make sure you have already made a record for each of those reasons. These are hard to win - mostly because the lawyer is better at defending themselves than defendants are at explaining the problem. (If you email me I'll send you a link to a short article on making a good Marsden motion.) It sounds like your lawyer might not have investigated the case. That is an important part of the job. If your complaints about the lawyer are legitimate (not just a personality clash) you need to make sure the record is complete for appellate purposes.

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Answered on 4/27/09, 11:30 am


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