Opinion ID: 1746085
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Should Harmless Error Analysis Apply?

Text: Although the State did not raise the issue in its brief, a question arose in oral arguments whether we should employ a harmless-error analysis. Rater controls on this question. In Rater, a forced-choice case, we held that whether the defendant was actually prejudiced by the district court's failure to conduct a sufficient inquiry was irrelevant. 568 N.W.2d at 661. We said this was so because a [h]armless error analysis is not applicable to Sixth Amendment right to self-representation questions. Id.; see also Rose v. Clark, 478 U.S. 570, 578-79, 106 S.Ct. 3101, 3106, 92 L.Ed.2d 460, 471 (1986) (recognizing that harmless-error analysis does not apply in all contexts and noting that the doctrine presupposes that a defendant is represented by counsel); Glasser v. United States, 315 U.S. 60, 76, 62 S.Ct. 457, 467, 86 L.Ed. 680, 702 (1942) (The right to have the assistance of counsel is too fundamental and absolute to allow courts to indulge in nice calculations as to the amount of prejudice arising from its denial.); United States v. Allen, 895 F.2d 1577, 1579-80 (10th Cir.1990) ([T]he right to counsel `is so basic to a fair trial that [its] infraction can never be treated as harmless error.' (quoting Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75, 88, 109 S.Ct. 346, 353-54, 102 L.Ed.2d 300, 313-14 (1988))); United States v. Balough, 820 F.2d 1485, 1489-90 (9th Cir.1987) (holding that harmless-error analysis is inappropriate when defendant does not knowingly and intelligently waive right to counsel). We reaffirm our position in Rater and therefore decline to employ a harmless-error analysis.