Opinion ID: 1468456
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Continuance and Counsel.

Text: On August 23, 1976, the ten defendants were brought into the Rockingham County Superior Court ( Bois, J.) and informed of the charges against them for violating the injunction. The court informed each defendant of his right to counsel. Two Massachusetts attorneys, Starr and Lesser, were present in the courtroom along with two New Hampshire attorneys, Robbins and Kearns. The court allowed the defendants to consult with the attorneys. After the consultation, the court was informed that defendant Ann Carol Riley would be represented by Mr. Kearns. Mr. Kearns also filed an appearance for Brian Cullen on August 30, 1976, the day before the trial was to begin. The other defendants would be represented by the two Massachusetts attorneys, who filed general appearances, and Mr. Robbins, who agreed to represent the nine defendants only at the bail hearing on August 23, 1976. All parties were informed that another New Hampshire attorney should be retained for the trial if Mr. Robbins decided not to continue his appearance beyond the bail hearing. Just prior to the adjournment that day, Mr. Lesser suggested that an appropriate date for the trial would be August 31, 1976. Mr. Robbins subsequently withdrew from the case. The day before the trial was to begin, Mr. Starr moved for a continuance on the grounds that local counsel had not been retained and that he had prior commitments for the next two days and was therefore not prepared to proceed. The court waived the local counsel requirement and denied the motion. Mr. Starr objected to this because he was under the impression that local counsel would be required and he needed local counsel because he was not sufficiently familiar with New Hampshire law to adequately represent his clients. He then requested that he be allowed to withdraw, which the court denied. The court emphasized the fact that the two Massachusetts attorneys had filed a general appearance and the trial would begin the next morning as scheduled. On the morning of the trial, Mr. Lesser filed a motion to withdraw based on the ground that the eight defendants had discharged him the night before because they felt he could not adequately represent them. Mr. Lesser explained to the court that he was not familiar with New Hampshire law and was unprepared to proceed without local counsel. The eight defendants represented by Messrs. Starr and Lesser moved to dismiss them as counsel. The court denied both motions. These eight defendants then requested to proceed pro se. The court allowed them to proceed pro se, with Mr. Lesser as standby counsel. See Mayberry v. Pennsylvania, 400 U.S. 455, 467-68 (1971) (Burger, C.J., concurring). Mr. Kearns then made a motion for a continuance for his two defendants on the ground that he was not prepared to begin the trial that day. The court denied the motion. [21, 22] From these facts we must determine whether the defendants were denied due process by the trial court's failure to grant a continuance. Reviewing the denial of a continuance places an appellate court in a difficult position. The trial judge is in a better position to determine whether there is an actual need for a continuance or if the defense is engaging in dilatory tactics. It is for this reason that the matter of a continuance is within the sound discretion of the trial judge. Ungar v. Sarafite, 376 U.S. 575, 589 (1964). See generally Assuring the Right to an Adequately Prepared Defense, 65 J. Crim. Law and Criminology 302 (1974). This does not mean, however, that a denial of a continuance will be treated superficially on review. Without adequate time to prepare a defense, a criminal defendant's right to effective assistance of counsel is reduced to a mere pretense. See Powell v. Alabama, 287 U.S. 45 (1932). A balance must be reached between the need for a speedy trial and a defendant's need to prepare his defense. There are no mechanical tests to determine when due process has been violated by the denial of a continuance, but in each case the totality of the circumstances must be considered. [23] In the present case we do not find such an abuse of discretion by the trial court that the defendants were denied effective assistance of counsel. The trial date was not mandated by the court, but was selected by the attorneys. They had eight days before the trial to prepare the defense. This is not an inadequate period of time when the evidence is fresh and the issues for trial are limited. The action of the trial judge does not present a myopic insistence upon expeditiousness in the face of a justifiable request for delay . . . . Ungar v. Sarafite, 376 U.S. 575, 589 (1964). The motions for the continuances did not present any facts to the trial court from which this court can say the denial of the continuance was so arbitrary that due process was violated. [24] We also do not find error in the circumstances surrounding the decision of the eight defendants represented by Mr. Lesser to proceed pro se. A criminal defendant has a right to proceed pro se, Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806 (1975), but this decision must be knowing and intelligent, id. at 835, and a free and meaningful choice. The defendants contend that their decision was not voluntary because they were faced with a choice of representing themselves or being represented by an unwilling, unprepared lawyer they had attempted to dismiss. [25] The defendants in this case voluntarily selected the two Massachusetts attorneys to represent them. The defendants did not attempt to dismiss their counsel until the day of the trial. The right to counsel of one's choice is not unlimited, and a court can compel a defendant to go to trial with present counsel if the court determines, within its sound discretion, that the objections to counsel are dilatory tactics or otherwise unwarranted. Maynard v. Meachum, 545 F.2d 273 (1st Cir. 1976); Lofton v. Procunier, 487 F.2d 434 (9th Cir. 1973). This case does not present the situation where the defendants were forced to proceed pro se by the court. See Commonwealth v. Cavanaugh, 353 N.E.2d 732 (Mass. 1976); State v. Renshaw, 276 Md. 259, 347 A.2d 219 (1975). Rather, the defendants unequivocally chose to represent themselves. The trial court also appointed one of their Massachusetts counsel, Mr. Lesser, as standby counsel ready to perform all the services a trained advocate would perform ordinarily .... Mayberry v. Pennsylvania, 400 U.S. 455, 467-68 (1971) (Burger, C.J., concurring). [26] Both attorneys Lesser and Starr filed several motions before trial on behalf of their clients, none of which appears from the record to have been denied for failure to conform to New Hampshire procedural requirements. Most, if not all, the federal constitutional issues raised by the defendants would most likely be treated similarly under New Hampshire or Massachusetts practice. The principal issue of whether the ten defendants entered the site in violation of the court injunction was common to all of them. Attorney Kearns, New Hampshire counsel who represented two of the defendants, was interested in presenting in defense of his clients matters which would most likely benefit all ten defendants. All defendants were found guilty. Given the background of the defendants as revealed by the record, as well as the totality of all the circumstances, we cannot hold as a matter of law that the defendants were forced to proceed with attorneys who could not serve them competently. We further hold that under the circumstances the defendants were capable and intelligently and voluntarily did waive their right to counsel and were not denied due process.