Court Opinion

ID: 9637175
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 14:59:46.734411+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:09:54.167305
License: Public Domain

LARSEN, Justice,
dissenting.
I dissent. Appellate review of legitimate issues of justice should not be precluded because the pro se defendant raises an issue that his attorney did not recognize or did not agree with. Many times, defendants are without the resources necessary to secure the legal representation of their choice, leaving them at the mercy of court appointed attorneys. Moreover, the fact that a defendant raises issues in his or her pro se brief, other than those raised by his or her attorney, cannot mean that the issues are not compelling or valid. To make a blanket statement that such issues are not worthy of appellate review denies these pro se defendants any semblance of justice.
Additionally, this Court now allows criminal attorneys to get away with legal malpractice up to and possibly including reckless and wanton disregard of the defendant’s interest. See Bailey et al. v. Tucker et al., 621 A.2d 108, 114 (1993). With such lax accountability for attorneys representing criminal defendants, any court should welcome pro se briefs.