Opinion ID: 4511510
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: conclusion

Text: A trial court may find that a criminal defendant has forfeited the right to counsel. In such a case, the court is not required to follow the requirements of N.C.G.S. § 15A-1242, which the court would otherwise be required to do before permitting a defendant to proceed pro se. A finding that a defendant has forfeited the right to counsel requires egregious dilatory or abusive conduct on the part of the defendant which undermines the purposes of the right to counsel and prevents the trial court from complying with N.C.G.S. § 15A-1242. Such conduct is not apparent here, where the record reflects that the defendant was allowed to proceed without counsel within twenty minutes of the start of the proceeding, was generally cooperative with the court’s requests, participated in the proceedings, and did not -18- STATE V. SIMPKINS Opinion of the Court utilize the right to counsel as a means of preventing the trial from moving forward. Because of the violation of his right to counsel under the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Article I, Sections 19 and 23 of the North Carolina Constitution, the defendant is entitled to a new trial. AFFIRMED. -19-