Opinion ID: 848691
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: the federal requirements for self-representation

Text: The Sixth Amendment provides that the accused in a criminal prosecution shall enjoy the right ... to have the Assistance of counsel for his defence. US Const, Am VI. [6] This requirement was made applicable to the states through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. [7] The right to counsel is considered fundamental because it is essential to a fair trial and attaches at the trial stage, which is clearly a critical stage of the proceedings. [8] While a defendant may choose to forgo the assistance of counsel at trial, any waiver of the right to counsel must be knowing, voluntary, and intelligent. [9] In addition, it is a long-held principle that courts are to make every reasonable presumption against the waiver of a fundamental constitutional right, [10] including the waiver of the right to the assistance of counsel. [11] In Faretta v. California, [12] the United States Supreme Court held that a defendant has a constitutional right to proceed without counsel when he voluntarily and intelligently elects to do so. [13] While the Faretta majority noted that the framers of the Constitution never imagined that the right of self-representation might be considered inferior to the right of assistance of counsel, [14] the United States Supreme Court has also noted that the right to self-representation is not absolute. [15] Indeed, because a defendant automatically enjoys the right to the assistance of counsel, [16] and the right of self-representation and the right to counsel are mutually exclusive, a defendant must elect to conduct his own defense `voluntarily and intelligently,'  [17] and must be made aware of the dangers and disadvantages of self-representation in order to [18] proceed pro se. [19] Therefore, while the right of self-representation is a fundamental constitutional right, other interests, such as the failure to effectively waive the right to counsel or a governmental interest in ensuring the integrity and efficiency of the trial may in some instances outweigh the defendant's constitutional right to act as his own counsel. [20] In sum, although the right to counsel and the right of self-representation are both fundamental constitutional rights, representation by counsel, as guarantor of a fair trial, is the standard, not the exception, [21] in the absence of a proper waiver.