Court Opinion

ID: 8646457
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2022-11-24 20:20:32.18971+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T16:56:19.610190
License: Public Domain

EVERETT, Chief Judge
(concurring):
Not every pretrial denial of counsel at a “critical stage” requires dismissal of charges or reversal of a conviction. Coleman v. Alabama, 399 U.S. 1, 90 S.Ct. 1999, 26 L.Ed.2d 387 (1970); United States v. Wade, 388 U.S. 218, 87 S.Ct. 1926, 18 L.Ed.2d 1149 (1967). However, the Government must establish that this constitutional error was harmless. Gilbert v. California, 388 U.S. 263, 272, 87 S.Ct. 1951, 1956, 18 L.Ed.2d 1178, 1186 (1967); cf. United States v. Remai, 19 M.J. 229 (C.M.A.1985). On the basis of my examination of this record, I agree with the principal opinion’s conclusion that here the Government has carried its heavy burden and has demonstrated that appellant’s defense was not impaired by the delay in appointing counsel to represent him.