Opinion ID: 1840075
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Was Richards denied his right to counsel?

Text: Richards' next contention of error revolves around his self-representation. He alleges that the trial court abrogated his right to counsel and to the effective assistance of counsel when it denied his request to relinquish his right to self-representation and to have his standby counsel proceed in his place. The state contends that Richards' request was not timely and was, in fact, merely another of many attempts to delay the proceedings and manipulate the court. We must consider two questions: first, whether a criminal defendant has an absolute right to reclaim his right to counsel, having once relinquished it, and, second, whether Richards was denied the effective assistance of counsel, in this case standby counsel? Central to this inquiry is the nature of the role of standby counsel. Is their role akin to that of the phone psychics who advertise on late-night television, giving advice, which may or may not be heeded, only when asked? Or is it more like that of a theatrical understudy, ready to step into the trial should the primary actor, the defendant, be for any reason unable to continue? This question is one of first impression in Minnesota. In Faretta v. California, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a criminal defendant has a constitutional right to represent himself and thus may voluntarily and intelligently elect to do so and waive his right to counsel. 422 U.S. 806, 834-35, 95 S.Ct. 2525, 2540-41, 45 L.Ed.2d 562 (1975). A defendant wishing to undertake his own defense need not be a lawyer, or even possess legal skills, but the trial court, when inquiring whether the defendant's waiver of counsel is voluntary and intelligent, should emphasize to the defendant the dangers and disadvantages of self-representation. Id. at 835, 95 S.Ct. at 2541. To partially ameliorate some of these disadvantages, the Court observed that a state may  even over objection by the accused  appoint `standby counsel' to aid the accused if and when the accused requests help, and to be available to represent the accused in the event that termination of the defendant's self-representation is necessary. Id. at 835 n. 46, 95 S.Ct. at 2541 n. 46. In Minnesota, standby counsel must be appointed for any defendant choosing to represent himself in a felony case. Minn.R.Crim.P. 5.02, subd. 1. As noted earlier, trial court in this instance appointed standby counsel from the Hennepin County Public Defender's staff. Even where a criminal defendant has chosen self-representation, and defense counsel are present on standby, however, the trial court still has the responsibility and power to regulate the conduct of the court proceedings. The Court stated flatly in Faretta that self-representation is not a license to disrupt, obstruct, or otherwise impede the trial proceedings: the trial judge may terminate self-representation by a defendant who deliberately engages in serious and obstructionist misconduct. Faretta, 422 U.S. at 834 n. 46, 95 S.Ct. at 2541 n. 46. The court must not allow self-representation to be used merely to delay a trial or to seek a mistrial. United States v. Flewitt, 874 F.2d 669, 674 (9th Cir.1989); Faretta, 422 U.S. at 834 n. 46, 95 S.Ct. at 2541 n. 46 (self-representation is not a license not to comply with the relevant rules of law and court procedure). On the other hand, neither can a defendant use his standby counsel as a means of delay or obstruction. A defendant cannot orchestrate appearances by standby counsel or alternate his position on whether or not he wishes to self-represent for purposes of delay. United States v. Taylor, 933 F.2d 307, 311 (5th Cir.1991) (citing McKaskle v. Wiggins, 465 U.S. 168, 183, 104 S.Ct. 944, 953, 79 L.Ed.2d 122 (1984)). Appellate courts have recognized that a trial court's discretion in this area may be sorely tested during a trial in which the defendant represents himself. See Richards II, 463 N.W.2d at 499; Taylor, 933 F.2d at 311. In addition, the parameters of the right to self-representation necessarily have an impact on the responsibilities of standby counsel. A defendant, for example, has the right to conduct his or her own defense and thus need not heed the advice of standby counsel. McKaskle, 465 U.S. at 174, 104 S.Ct. at 949. Thus, standby counsel's role is fundamentally advisory, and [p]articipation by standby counsel    should not be allowed to destroy the jury's perception that the defendant is representing himself. Id. at 178, 104 S.Ct. at 951. Also, a self-representing defendant cannot later complain that he did not understand or was unable to negotiate the proceedings  that is the purpose of standby counsel. Standby counsel are present to steer a defendant through the basic procedures of trial and to relieve the judge of the need to explain and enforce basic rules of [the] courtroom   . McKaskle, 465 U.S. at 184, 104 S.Ct. at 954. There is, however, little caselaw directly discussing the issue here, namely, whether or not standby counsel should also fill the role of second chair counsel and be ready to step in to continue the trial should the defendant be unable or unwilling to continue his or her own defense. Richards argues that his right to relinquish his self-representation, and thereby return his standby counsel to active duty, is absolute. We disagree. None of the cases cited by Richards indicate that self-representation is some sort of legal overcoat to be worn when it is comfortable to do so and discarded when it is not. In its discussion of standby counsel, the Faretta Court enshrined no such absolute right to relinquish one's self-representation. Instead, it referred specifically to the possibility of deliberate obstructionist conduct on the part of the defendant in instances where a defendant chose self-representation and standby counsel were appointed. Faretta, 422 U.S. at 834 n. 46, 95 S.Ct. at 2541 n. 46. Richards is quite familiar with the type of behavior the Faretta Court addressed. In our first review of Richards' conviction for the Stratton murder, we observed that Richards was unquestionably manipulative and argumentative, persisting often in wandering into annoying irrelevancies and always dissatisfied with anyone's competence except his own. Richards I, 456 N.W.2d at 266. When we again considered the Stratton matter, we noted specifically that the trial court possessed the discretionary ability to determine if Richards' behavior should result in a waiver of his right to represent himself. Richards II, 463 N.W.2d at 499. During our final review of the Stratton matter, Richards alleged that the trial court's conduct during trial had included prejudicial comments and hostility and impatience and that the trial court castigated and threatened him. We concluded that, in fact, the court had behaved commendably under circumstances made vexatious by Richards' repeated disruptive behavior. Richards III, 495 N.W.2d at 197. Indeed, in our consideration of the Stratton matter, mindful of Richards' record of poor courtroom behavior and attempts to manipulate trial proceedings, we qualified his ability to relinquish his right to self-representation, stating that [d]efendant shall not be permitted to request substitution of standby counsel unless, in the trial court's discretion, his request is timely and reasonable and reflects extraordinary circumstances. Richards II, 463 N.W.2d at 499. This appears to us to remain the proper standard and the trial court acted on it here. When Richards sought to relinquish his right of self-representation and to hand-off the trial to standby counsel, the trial court carefully balanced his motion against the progress of the trial to date, the readiness of standby counsel to proceed, and the possible disruption of the proceedings. We cannot say, in light of all of the circumstances, especially Richards' participation in earlier criminal proceedings, that the trial court abused its discretion when it denied his request. Richards also contends that by not preparing to take over the case should he suddenly decide to relinquish his self-representation, standby counsel were ineffective. We have found no case that squarely addresses the effectiveness of standby counsel. See United States v. Windsor, 981 F.2d 943, 947 (7th Cir.1992). There are, however, cases policing what might be termed the outer perimeter of the role of standby counsel. For example, the law places standby counsel at the mercy of the defendant's plans, or lack thereof, for the presentation of a defense. If the defendant wishes standby counsel to be involved, to render impromptu advice, or even to appear before the court, the defendant must authorize the standby counsel to do so. McKaskle, 465 U.S. at 183, 104 S.Ct. at 953. If the defendant wishes the standby counsel not to participate, then they must simply attend the trial. See State v. Parson, 457 N.W.2d 261, 263 (Minn.App. 1990) rev. denied (Minn. July 31, 1990) (reversible error for standby counsel to leave the courtroom while trial in progress). It is apparent that the role of standby counsel is fundamentally different from the role of counsel generally. When a lawyer is acting as standby counsel, the defendant's other rights occasionally intervene to prevent the standby counsel from acting as would be expected if he or she were counsel for the defendant. See, e.g., McKaskle, 465 U.S. at 174, 183, 104 S.Ct. at 949, 953. Nevertheless, whether standby counsel and lawyers acting as counsel for defendants should be held to the standards for the effective assistance of counsel announced by the U.S. Supreme Court in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984) remains an open question. We think that a different standard, coextensive with, but not the same as that of Strickland, may govern the activities of standby counsel, but we decline to announce such a standard here. Instead, it is sufficient for us to state that, whatever the standard for the effective assistance of standby counsel may be, it was met in this instance. Richards chose to confine his standby counsel to a very passive role: while he frequently consulted with standby counsel, he did not include them in his strategy planning or allow them to appear before the court. He did allow them to draft a single legal memorandum for the court, but otherwise their participation was strictly advisory. Moreover, Richards controlled access to the discovery documents, keeping them in his workrooms at the prison and the courthouse; neither of the two public defenders, who during this lengthy trial continued to carry full caseloads, had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with any of the discovery materials. To truly prepare to continue the trial in the event Richards faltered would have required extraordinary efforts on the part of two public defenders who simultaneously carried separate full caseloads. These attorneys were truly standby, to be used if necessary. Faretta, 422 U.S. at 834 n. 46, 95 S.Ct. at 2541 n. 46. This court is familiar with Richards' obvious competence to plead his case (he represented himself through two trials and three appeals in the Stratton murder prior to the instant trial), as well as with his dissatisfaction with anyone else's ability. See Richards I, 456 N.W.2d at 266. Richards' standby counsel were not intimately familiar with the discovery and the defense strategy because Richards wished it to be thus. It was his right to make such decisions, to conduct his defense as he saw fit. McKaskle, 465 U.S. at 174, 104 S.Ct. at 949. We are not inclined to hold his decisions against his standby counsel. It appears that his standby counsel did all that he allowed them to do. Therefore, we conclude that he was not denied effective assistance of counsel.