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Eleventh Circuit Announces Sixth Amendment Right to Proceed Pro Se at Sentencing if Defendant ‘Clearly and Unequivocally’ Expresses Desire to Do So After Faretta Inquiry
Article • August 1, 2025 • from CLN August, 2025
Filed under: Mootness, Counsel - Withdrawal/Substitution of, Self-representation
Eleventh Circuit Announces Sixth Amendment Right to Proceed Pro Se at Sentencing if Defendant ‘Clearly and Unequivocally’ Expresses Desire to Do So After Faretta Inquiry by Jeffrey Cohen The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held that the defendant had clearly and unequivocally asserted his Sixth Amendment …
Colorado Supreme Court Announces When Deciding Defendant’s Pro Se Motion Requesting Counsel on Postconviction Review, Trial Court Must Either Deny Entire Motion or Permit All Claims If Any Have Argua...
Article • December 15, 2024 • from CLN January, 2025
Filed under: Appointment of Counsel, After Request for Counsel, Pro Se Issues
Colorado Supreme Court Announces When Deciding Defendant’s Pro Se Motion Requesting Counsel on Postconviction Review, Trial Court Must Either Deny Entire Motion or Permit All Claims If Any Have Arguable Merit by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford The Supreme Court of Colorado issued an opinion defining the scope of a …
Eighth Circuit Holds Right to Self-Representation Is Not Forfeited Based Solely on Defendant’s Repeated Assertion of Frivolous ‘Sovereign Citizen’ Arguments
Article • September 1, 2024 • from CLN September, 2024
Filed under: Sovereign Immunity, Judicial or Administrative Orders, Self-representation
Eighth Circuit Holds Right to Self-Representation Is Not Forfeited Based Solely on Defendant’s Repeated Assertion of Frivolous ‘Sovereign Citizen’ Arguments by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit held that the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri erred by concluding …
Sixth Circuit Announces Untimely Notice of Appeal That Provides Reason for Tardiness May Be Construed as Motion to Reopen
Article • May 15, 2024 • from CLN May, 2024
Filed under: Notice of Appeal/Appeal Rights, Pleading Requirements/Rules
Sixth Circuit Announces Untimely Notice of Appeal That Provides Reason for Tardiness May Be Construed as Motion to Reopen by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that an untimely notice of appeal (“NOA”) that provides a reason for the tardiness may …
U.S. Supreme Court Apparently Prioritizes Ideology Over Guilt or Innocence
Article • January 15, 2024 • from CLN January, 2024
Filed under: AEDPA, Procedural Default/Error, Proving Cause, Capital Cases, Procedural Error, Effective Assistance of Counsel, Counsel - Right to, Counsel - Effective Assistance of, Strickland Standard, Per se ineffectiveness, Right to Counsel
U.S. Supreme Court Apparently Prioritizes Ideology Over Guilt or Innocence by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The current justices on the Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”) apparently prioritize ideology over guilt or innocence. Almost 40 years ago, SCOTUS held that the U.S. Constitution’s Sixth Amendment guarantee of a …
‘Data for Defenders’: Valuable New Resource for Defense Counsel and Pro Se Litigants
Article • October 1, 2023 • from CLN October, 2023
Filed under: Databases, Pro Se Issues
‘Data for Defenders’: Valuable New Resource for Defense Counsel and Pro Se Litigants by Jordan Arizmendi by Jordan Arizmendi A new open access database called “Data for Defenders,” a project of MDefenders program at the University of Michigan Law School, is a valuable tool for defenders. The resources available in …
Colorado Supreme Court Clarifies There Is No Per Se Rule Excluding Self-Serving Hearsay
Article • September 1, 2023 • from CLN September, 2023
Filed under: Pro Se Issues, Hearsay Evidence, Exclusionary Rule
Colorado Supreme Court Clarifies There Is No Per Se Rule Excluding Self-Serving Hearsay by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke The Supreme Court of Colorado ­clarified that there is no per se rule excluding self-serving hearsay by a criminal defendant, holding that “like any other hearsay statement, a defendant’s self-serving hearsay …
Georgia Supreme Court Announces Overruling Longstanding Rule That Anything Filed by Defendant While Represented by Counsel Is Always a ‘Legal Nullity’
Article • June 15, 2023 • from CLN July, 2023
Filed under: Self-representation
Georgia Supreme Court Announces Overruling Longstanding Rule That Anything Filed by Defendant While Represented by Counsel Is Always a ‘Legal Nullity’ by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Georgia unanimously held that courts maintain discretion to consider “hybrid motions,” i.e., motions filed pro se by defendants who …
California Court of Appeal: Trial Court’s Denial of Faretta Request Without Finding of ‘Severe Mental Illness’ Denied Defendant Sixth Amendment Right to Self-Representation
Article • February 15, 2023 • from CLN March, 2023
Filed under: Mental Health, Self-representation, Mental Health Records
California Court of Appeal: Trial Court’s Denial of Faretta Request Without Finding of ‘Severe Mental Illness’ Denied Defendant Sixth Amendment Right to Self-Representation by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke The Court of Appeal of California, Fourth Appellate District, reversed a conviction for assault on a peace officer by means of …
Third Circuit: District Court’s Focus on Substance of Defendant’s Meritless Arguments in Denying Request to Represent Himself Resulted in Inadequate Inquiry Prior to Denial in Violation of Sixth Amend...
Article • July 15, 2022 • from CLN August, 2022
Filed under: Self-representation
Third Circuit: District Court’s Focus on Substance of Defendant’s Meritless Arguments in Denying Request to Represent Himself Resulted in Inadequate Inquiry Prior to Denial in Violation of Sixth Amendment by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that U.S. District Court for …
Eighth Circuit Affirms Habeas Relief, Finds Arkansas Supreme Court Wrongly Denied Defendant’s Self-Representation Request
Article • January 15, 2021 • from CLN February, 2021
Filed under: Eighth Amendment, Habeas Corpus, Self-representation
Eighth Circuit Affirms Habeas Relief, Finds Arkansas Supreme Court Wrongly Denied Defendant’s Self-Representation Request by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed the grant of habeas corpus relief on December 18, 2020, agreeing that the Arkansas Supreme Court wrongly denied a defendant’s …
Ninth Circuit: Rehaif Error Requires Automatic Dismissal of Indictment
Article • January 15, 2021 • from CLN February, 2021
Filed under: Felon in Possession Statute, Pro Se Issues, Knowingly and Voluntarily Made
Ninth Circuit: Rehaif Error Requires Automatic Dismissal of Indictment by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held on September 17, 2020, that the Supreme Court’s ruling adding a “knowing” element to a statute requires automatic dismissal of an indictment that lacked that …
Ninth Circuit: Asking Single Objectionable Question Insufficient to Justify Termination of Defendant’s Right to Pro Se Representation
Article • December 15, 2020 • from CLN January, 2021
Filed under: Self-representation, Adequacy, Prisoners' Rights
Ninth Circuit: Asking Single Objectionable Question Insufficient to Justify Termination of Defendant’s Right to Pro Se Representation by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that a defendant asking a single objectionable question, without more, was insufficient reason to justify the U.S. …
Simplified pleadings-Deformation of Fed Rules ACLU, 2013
Publication • January 1, 2013
Filed under: Summary Judgment, Discovery, Expert Witnesses/Testimony, Pleading Requirements/Rules, Class Actions
Simplified pleadings-Deformation of Fed Rules ACLU, 2013 \\jciprod01\productn\N\NYU\88-1\NYU108.txt unknown Seq: 1 21-MAR-13 10:15 • SIMPLIFIED PLEADING, MEANINGFUL DAYS IN COURT, AND TRIALS ON THE MERITS: REFLECTIONS ON THE DEFORMATION OF FEDERAL PROCEDURE ARTHUR R. MILLER* When the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure were promulgated in 1938, they reflected a policy …