Case Name: Lawrence Robert HARAM, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee
Court: Florida District Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 1993-09-17
Citations: 625 So. 2d 875
Docket Number: No. 92-1446
Parties: Lawrence Robert HARAM, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
Judges: DAUKSCH and GOSHORN, JJ., concur.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 625
Pages: 875–876

Head Matter:
Lawrence Robert HARAM, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
No. 92-1446.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fifth District.
Sept. 17, 1993.
Rehearing Denied Oct. 26, 1993.
James B. Gibson, Public Defender and Daniel J. Schafer, Asst. Public Defender, Daytona Beach, for appellant.
Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, and Barbara Arlene Fink, Asst. Atty. Gen., Daytona Beach, for appellee.

Opinion:
PER CURIAM.
After a jury trial, the appellant was convicted and sentenced for thirteen counts of sexual battery and one count of kidnapping. The issue on appeal is whether the trial court erred by not allowing the appellant to represent himself. We affirm because our review of the record causes us to conclude that the appellant was not desirous of representing himself, but instead wished to further delay the proceedings which had already stretched 17 months from arrest to trial.
The dissent is correct that at least at one point in the record, the appellant stated his desire to represent himself. However, the record is replete with conflicting requests. For example, when the trial judge asked the appellant if he believed he could properly represent himself in a criminal jury trial, the appellant responded:
THE DEFENDANT: No. To be honest with you, no, I don't. I could if I had the time to research it and study and someone to instruct me.
The appellant also requested the court to relieve the public defender and appoint a private attorney selected by the appellant, to be paid at public expense. In response, the trial judge noted that the appellant had previously caused two attorneys to be discharged from his case. The record further shows that while the appellant contended that his present counsel was not sufficiently prepared for trial, the appellant had directed his attorney not to depose certain witnesses or conduct certain discovery.
Based on the record, we conclude that the appellant's various conflicting requests were not in good faith, but were designed solely for the purpose of further delay. Accordingly, we affirm the trial court's denial of the appellant's request to represent himself.
AFFIRMED.
DAUKSCH and GOSHORN, JJ., concur.
COBB, J., dissents with opinion.