A reversal in New York for failure to allow pro se representation

A felony conviction was reversed in New York by the 3rd Department because the defendant was denied the right to represent himself.

The 3rd Department made an interesting point in the case - that the extent of legal knowledge to represent himself for the defendant is irrelevant, what is relevant is only the defendant's capacity to waive his right to counsel.

Now the defendant, an inmate, will be retried, representing himself, likely with the same result - because now he will not only be competing against a legally trained professional prosecutor, but also will be building his defense in jail, with only paper - and often inadequate - law library to help him.

At least, the appellate court had the decency of supporting the defendant's claim that the court improperly denied him the negative inference charge to the jury about the missing evidence - the clothes that were washed and not submitted for discovery, eliminating the only physical evidence of defendant's crime, and making the People's case rely upon words of testimony only.

Let's see how the defendant will fair on retrial.

I will continue to monitor this case.

Stay tuned.