Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

If you mean a Faretta motion it is a request to the judge to allow the defendant in a criminal case to represent oneself.

I agree with Mr. Shapiro. It is a Faretta motion, not a Baretta motion. It takes its name from the case Faretta v. California 422 U.S. 806 (1975).

I'm not familiar with that.. If you misheard and mean "Faretta" - it's not necessarily a motion, but a waiver.

A Faretta waiver is when a defendant in a criminal case says they want to represent themselves in their case. The judge will engage in a series of questions and warnings to the defendant about the potential risks of self-representation. Several of the key points include the warning that the Court cannot provide legal advice and will treat them like they were an attorney; that they will be held to the same legal rules as an attorney including the rules of admissibility, objections and other evidentiary issues, etc. It typically includes some fairly strong language of caution against self-representation. The defendant is warned that they are going against an attorney in the prosecutor's office who is trained in the law, etc.

If the judge is satisfied that the defendant truly understands the warnings and has sufficient ability to represent themselves, despite the warnings.... then they can go forward with self-representation.

Always a poor choice, but yes, it's a defendant's right to represent themselves.