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COA: Forfeiture of counsel not to be taken lightly
One court-appointed attorney withdrawing from a defendant’s case is happenstance, and two, as the saying goes, might be coincidence. A third attorney’s withdrawal clearly suggests some difficulties, but in the case of a New Hanover County man convicted of stealing items from the home of the local district attorney, it didn’t, by itself, support […]
4th Circuit – Criminal Practice – Court Erred in Finding ‘Forfeiture’ of Counsel
U.S. v. Ductan (Lawyers Weekly No. 15-01-0858, 32 pp.) (Per Curiam) No. 14-4220, Sept. 2, 2015; UDC at Charlotte, N.C. (Conrad, J.) 4th Cir. Holding: A trial court violated a drug defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel when it found that defendant had forfeited his right to counsel by making “nonsense statements” and required him […]
Criminal Practice — Right to Counsel – Forfeiture – Obstruction – Jury Instructions – Acting in Concert
State v. Brown (Lawyers Weekly No. 15-07-0200, 19 pp.) (Martha Geer, J.) Appealed from Guilford County Superior Court (David Hall, J.) N.C. App. Holding: In refusing to answer the trial court’s questions as to whether he waived his right to counsel, defendant made equivocal statements; therefore, defendant did not waive his right to counsel. However, […]
All about Mee
Job would envy the patience of Wake County Superior Court Judge Michael O’Foghludha, on display during his recent handling of a drug defendant’s case.
Criminal Practice – Forfeiture of Counsel – Competence – Mental Capacity
State v. Wray. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-07-0814, 30 pp.) (Cheri Beasley, J.) (Linda Stephens, J., concurring) Appealed from Cleveland County Superior Court (Forrest D. Bridges, J.) N.C. App. Holding: A criminal defendant who does not engage in serious misbehavior and shows evidence that he may not be competent to represent himself cannot forfeit the right […]
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Commentary
- Name game can end up being blame game
- Stericycle decision forces evaluation of policies, practices
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- N.C. justices to decide many interesting cases
- Amotion sees resurgence after almost a decade
- The flip side of generative AI in law and how to address it
- The fight for equal educational opportunity continues
- Court’s term was rough on big business
- Ex-president, bar association have made their choice
- Ruling sharpens boundaries in attorney-client privilege
- Lawyers Weekly debuts new and improved web experience
- US Supreme Court bites back at parody’s use of the First Amendment
