Court Opinion

ID: 9750665
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-28 15:18:26.056971+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:26:16.736961
License: Public Domain

Justice TODD,
dissenting.
Because I conclude Appellee’s conduct was not so egregious as to support a finding that he forfeited his right to counsel, and because Appellee was not warned that he could lose his right to counsel through waiver by conduct, nor colloquied to ensure that he understood the implications of such waiver, I would affirm the Superior Court’s grant of a new trial. Accordingly, I respectfully dissent.
Preliminarily, for the reasons explained by Chief Justice Castille in his concurring opinion, see Concurring Op. at 1180— 82,1 agree that the Commonwealth did not waive its forfeiture argument. Nevertheless, I do not believe the Commonwealth prevails on the merits of its argument.
*202Pursuant to the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, a defendant on trial has the right to the assistance of counsel. Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806, 95 S.Ct. 2525, 45 L.Ed.2d 562 (1975). A defendant is entitled to waive this right in favor of self-representation; however, such waiver must be knowing and intelligent:
When an accused manages his own defense, he relinquishes, as a purely factual matter, many of the traditional benefits associated with the right to counsel. For this reason, in order to represent himself, the accused must “knowingly and intelligently” forgo those relinquished benefits. Although a defendant need not himself have the skill and experience of a lawyer in order competently and intelligently to choose self-representation, he should be made aware of the dangers and disadvantages of self-representation, so that the record will establish that “he knows what he is doing and his choice is made with eyes open.”
Id. at 835, 95 S.Ct. 2525 (emphasis added, citations omitted); see also United States v. Welty, 674 F.2d 185, 188 (3rd Cir.1982) (before a defendant is permitted to represent himself, the court “has the responsibility of ensuring that any choice of self-representation is made knowingly and intelligently, with an awareness of the dangers and disadvantages inherent in defending oneself’).
As the Majority notes, in certain instances, a defendant also may be held to have forfeited his Sixth Amendment right to counsel. In United States v. Goldberg, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals distinguished the concepts of waiver and forfeiture: “Unlike waiver, which requires a knowing and intentional relinquishment of a known right, forfeiture results in the loss of a right regardless of the defendant’s knowledge thereof and irrespective of whether the defendant intended to relinquish the right.” 67 F.3d 1092, 1100 (3rd Cir.1995).
The types of conduct which courts have found to support a finding that a defendant forfeited his right to counsel include situations where a defendant was verbally abusive, threatened to harm his attorney, and attempted to make his attorney *203engage in unethical activities, see United States v. McLeod, 53 F.3d 322 (11th Cir.1995), and where a defendant physically-assaulted his attorney, see United States v. Jennings, 855 F.Supp. 1427 (M.D.Pa.1994) (defendant forfeited his right to counsel by punching his court-appointed attorney); United States v. Leggett, 162 F.3d 237 (3d Cir.1998) (defendant forfeited his right to counsel by assaulting his attorney). I cannot agree -with the Majority that the conduct of the defendant in the case sub judice — failing to retain counsel, over a period of nearly nine months, despite having the financial means to do so — constitutes the type of conduct which results in forfeiture of the right to counsel.
Indeed, the court in Goldberg contemplated a third situation, that of waiver by conduct, which I believe more closely parallels the facts of the instant case:
[TJhere is a hybrid situation (“waiver by conduct”) that combines elements of waiver and forfeiture. Once a defendant has been warned that he will lose his attorney if he engages in dilatory tactics, any misconduct thereafter may be treated as an implied request to proceed pro se and, thus, as a waiver of the right to counsel. See, e.g., United States v. Bauer, 956 F.2d 693 (7th Cir.) (failure to hire counsel where defendant has financial ability to do so constitutes a waiver by conduct), cert denied, [506 U.S. 882,113 S.Ct. 234, 121 L.Ed.2d 169 (1992)]; United States v. Allen, 895 F.2d 1577 (10th Cir.1990) (district court properly treated defendant’s dilatory conduct as a request to proceed pro se). Both Bauer and Allen, however, recognize that to the extent that the defendant’s actions are examined under the doctrine of “waiver,” there can be no valid waiver of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel unless the defendant also receives Faretta warnings. Batter, 956 F.2d at 695; Allen, 895 F.2d at 1579; see also United States v. Meeks, 987 F.2d 575 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, [510 U.S. 919, 114 S.Ct. 314, 126 L.Ed.2d 261 (1993)].
67 F.3d at 1100 (emphasis added).
Thus, there can be no valid waiver by conduct in the absence of a warning to the defendant that he will lose his
*204right to counsel if he continues to engage in dilatory conduct. Id. at 1101 (“a ‘waiver by conduct’ requires that a defendant be warned about the consequences of his conduct, including the risks of proceeding pro se ”) (citing Illinois v. Allen, 397 U.S. 337, 90 S.Ct. 1057, 25 L.Ed.2d 353 (1970) (holding that a defendant can lose his Sixth Amendment right to be present at trial if, after he has been warned by the judge that he will be removed, he continues his disruptive behavior)).
Furthermore, Goldberg holds that a court, prior to finding waiver by conduct, must adhere to the requirements of Faretta, supra, and Welty, supra, and engage in a colloquy with the defendant to insure he understands the implications of the loss of right to counsel. In rejecting the government’s argument that Goldberg had waived his right to counsel by conduct, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals stated:
any claim that Goldberg waived his right to counsel by conduct is precluded by the government’s concession that the district court failed to inform Goldberg of the risks of self-representation in accordance with Faretta and Welty. Thus, even though there may be conduct dilatory enough to constitute a waiver by conduct but insufficient to support a pure forfeiture, compare Bauer, 956 F.2d at 693[,] with McLeod, 53 F.3d 322, we need not determine whether Goldberg’s conduct in this case amounted to a waiver by conduct. The record clearly establishes that the district court took no affirmative step to ensure that Goldberg “truly appreciate^] the dangers and disadvantages of self-representation.” Welty, 674 F.2d at 188.
Goldberg, 67 F.3d at 1102-03.
Although, as the Chief Justice states in his concurring opinion, a waiver colloquy is not itself a constitutional right, Concurring Op. at 1182 (citing Commonwealth v. Mallory, 596 Pa. 172, 941 A.2d 686 (Pa.2008)), this Court nevertheless routinely requires a colloquy as a means to insure that a defendant’s waiver of the underlying constitutional right is knowing, voluntary and intelligent. Indeed, Rule 121 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure requires the trial court to conduct an on-the-record colloquy to determine *205“whether the defendant understands the full impact and consequences of his or her waiver of the right to counsel, but is nevertheless willing to waive that right.” Pa.R.Crim.P. 121, Comment. Rule 620 requires an on-the-record colloquy where a defendant desires to waive his constitutional right to a jury trial, and Rule 590(A)(2) requires the court to conduct an on-the-record inquiry of a defendant to insure that a guilty plea or plea of nolo contendere is knowingly and understanding^ tendered. See also Commonwealth v. Vega, 553 Pa. 255, 719 A.2d 227 (1998) (plurality) (requirements for a knowing and intelligent waiver of a defendant’s presence at trial under Pa.R.Crim.P 602 include a full, on-the-record colloquy concerning the consequences of forfeiture of the defendant’s right to be present). As this Court stated in Commonwealth v. Myrick,
All of these formal requirements for a waiver are intended to assure one thing — that the decision to waive these rights is the informed and voluntary act of the defendant and can be shown to be such by reference to the record. So long as there is an indication, on the’record, that the waiver is the informed and voluntary decision of the defendant, it will be accorded prima facie validity. Absent this record indication of validity, the waiver will be ineffective.
468 Pa. 155, 160, 360 A.2d 598, 600 (1976).
Thus, the duty of the trial court to ascertain whether a defendant’s waiver of a constitutional right is knowing and intelligent is clear. I conclude this requirement prevails whether a defendant explicitly seeks to waive the right to counsel, or by his conduct suggests the same intention. Regardless of how a defendant’s intention is manifested, a colloquy is the only way to determine whether a defendant understands the risks and implications of waiver of his right to counsel. Accordingly, except in those cases where the defendant’s conduct is so egregious as to constitute forfeiture, I would hold that a colloquy is required before the defendant is held to have waived his right to counsel.
With regard to the instant case, a review of the record reveals that the trial court at no time warned Appellee he *206might lose his constitutional right to counsel if he continued in failing to retain private counsel. Chief Justice Castille notes that, on two occasions, the trial court “informed [A]ppellee that he would be going to trial on the listed date ‘with or without counsel.’ ” Concurring Op. at 200, 971 A.2d at 1182. The Chief Justice concludes “[tjhese clear warnings served to bring home to appellee that the obligation was on him to secure counsel and that the consequence would be self-representation.” Id. at 1183. I cannot agree that a trial court’s statement to a defendant that trial will proceed on a certain day whether or not the defendant is represented by counsel is the equivalent of a warning that the defendant is in danger of waiving his constitutional right to counsel entirely as a result of his failure to retain counsel.1 In my view, the trial court’s failure to expressly warn Appellee that he could lose his right to counsel by virtue of his conduct is alone sufficient to preclude a finding of waiver of counsel by conduct.
Nevertheless, even if the statements referred to by the Chief Justice in his concurring opinion could be considered a sufficient warning to Appellee that he was in danger of losing his constitutional right to counsel, a determination that Appellee did, in fact, waive his right to counsel by conduct is precluded by the trial court’s failure to take the “affirmative step” of a colloquy to insure that Appellee fully appreciated the risks of self-representation. See Goldberg, 67 F.3d at 1102-03.2 Indeed, I believe a colloquy was especially crucial *207in the instant case, as a review of the record suggests to me that Appellee may not fully have understood the consequences of his actions: one of Appellee’s original attorneys had reservations about Appellee’s mental state and believed that a psychiatric examination was warranted. See Commonwealth’s Brief at 34 (“Attorney Marsilio stated that ‘I found his behavior and thought processes paranoid and delusional.’ ”).
As I do not believe Lucarelli’s conduct was of the type that would support a finding that he forfeited his right to counsel, and because Lucarelli was not warned that he could lose his right to counsel through waiver by conduct, I would affirm the Superior Court’s grant of a new trial on the basis that Lucarelli was denied his right to counsel. For these reasons, I dissent.
Justice SAYLOR joins this dissenting opinion.

. The Chief Justice also concludes "[f]he fact that appellee chose to ignore the trial court’s warnings and failed to secure private counsel clearly supports a finding of forfeiture." Concurring Op. at 201, 971 A.2d at 1183. As discussed above, I do not believe that Appellee's conduct was of the type that would justify a finding of forfeiture of right to counsel. Moreover, warnings are not a prerequisite to a finding of forfeiture.

. To the extent the Majority cites Commonwealth v. Szuchon, 506 Pa. 228, 484 A.2d 1365 (1984), for the proposition that a defendant who insists on private counsel but fails to take any steps to retain counsel may be deemed to have waived the right to have counsel of his or her choice, I believe such reliance is misplaced. In that case, Szuchon repeatedly indicated that he would retain private counsel, but failed 1o do so. One week before his scheduled trial, Szuchon agreed to be represented by court-appointed counsel, but against counsel’s advice, refused to waive his speedy trial rights to allow counsel more time to *207prepare. The trial court conducted a colloquy and explained the ramifications of his refusal to waive his speedy trial rights. Following his conviction, Szuchon argued on appeal, inter alia, that the short period of time court-appointed counsel had to prepare resulted in a per se violation of his right to effective representation of counsel. In rejecting Szuchon's ineffectiveness claim, we acknowledged Faretta, supra, and noted:
the record makes it exceedingly clear that appellant knowingly and intelligently, and with full explanation and understanding of the consequences, insisted on his right to be tried, under Rule 1100, within 180 days of his arrest, thus deliberately forcing trial to commence on October 12, 1981. Being fully aware that court appointed counsel had only a limited time for preparation of his defense, appellant cannot be heard to bemoan the effectiveness of counsels' representation due to lack of preparation.
Id. at 251, 484 A.2d at 1377. Thus, Szuchon is not a waiver of counsel case because Szuchon chose to go to trial with appointed counsel. Moreover, Szuchon confirms the importance of a colloquy with respect to the waiver of certain constitutional rights: the court rejected Szuchon's ineffectiveness claim because the trial court conducted a thorough colloquy to insure Szuchon understood the consequences of his refusal to waive his speedy trial rights.