Opinion ID: 683223
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Arlt's Request Was Unequivocal

Text: 14 In addition, Arlt's request to proceed without counsel was unequivocal. A defendant must make an explicit choice between exercising the right to counsel and the right to self-representation so that a court may be reasonably certain that the defendant wishes to represent himself. Adams v. Carroll, 875 F.2d 1441, 1444 (9th Cir.1989). This requirement protects against two unacceptable occurrences: an inadvertent waiver of the right to counsel by a defendant's occasional musings on the benefits of self-representation and manipulation by the defendant of the mutually exclusive rights to counsel and self-representation. Id. 15 The trial record clearly demonstrates that Arlt did not make the request thoughtlessly or as a musing. Prior to his announcement, he explained his intentions to his attorney, whose partner attempted to dissuade him from such a course. At the hearing, the district judge lectured Arlt on the disadvantages of self-representation. Further, the judge ordered a meeting between Arlt and a court-appointed attorney. Throughout these events, Arlt persisted in seeking the right to represent himself. Even when the judge had categorically denied his motion and appointed counsel for him, Arlt nevertheless repeated his request by noting that he was demanding the right. The clarity and forcefulness of Arlt's request demonstrates that he unequivocally articulated his decision to proceed pro se. See Adams, 875 F.2d at 1445 (noting that a defendant's choice was unequivocal because he took one position and stuck to it). 16 There is also no evidence to indicate that Arlt was attempting to manipulate the proceedings. He never attempted to use vague language that might lay the groundwork for a future appeal. Indeed, had the district judge granted Arlt's request, the explicit and persistent manner in which Arlt made his demand would have prevented him from pursuing a claim of inadequate waiver on appeal. Thus, in the case at hand, the defendant made the choice required by Adams, but his choice was overridden by the district court. 17 The government argues that Arlt's conduct during a later hearing demonstrated equivocation and that he was therefore under an obligation to renew his motion for self-representation. First, it asserts that we should find that Arlt abandoned his desire to represent himself, or at least created ambiguity on that point, because he made a motion to substitute counsel. As we discuss in greater detail below, the fact that Arlt made a motion to substitute counsel provided absolutely no basis for a conclusion that he no longer wished to represent himself. Nor did his filing of the motion give rise to any ambiguity with respect to his position on that point. Consequently, Arlt was under no obligation to renew his request to represent himself. See infra pp. 522-24. 18 The government also asserts that an ambiguity was created by Arlt's failure to register an objection after the court ruled that by making the motion to substitute counsel he had waived his right to self-representation. The government's argument is without merit. Arlt had no obligation to announce that he objected to the court's erroneous ruling. His silence following the ruling does not in any way indicate equivocation on his part, absent some affirmative evidence in the record that he had changed his mind about self-representation. The district judge's ruling concerned the consequences, not the purpose, of Arlt's motion to substitute counsel. The judge never made a finding that Arlt did not desire to proceed pro se. He simply announced an erroneous ruling of law: that stating a preference for representation by one lawyer rather than another serves to waive one's right to self-representation. Anything Arlt could have said about his wish to proceed pro se at that point would have been unavailing. The judge had just declared for the fourth time that he was not competent. Under these circumstances, Arlt's failure to object hardly constituted evidence of equivocation.