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Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Ind. Decisions - "Court orders new trial for man forced to accept lawyer"
The AP's Charles Wilson has a story about yesterday's Court of Appeals ruling in the case of In Ahmad Edwards v. State of Indiana (see ILB entry here - 2nd case). The story begins:
INDIANAPOLIS - A judge erred when he found a man competent to stand trial but denied him the right to represent himself in court, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled.The three-judge panel set aside Ahmad Edwards' convictions on charges of attempted murder and battery and ordered Marion Superior Court to hold a new trial.
Judge John G. Baker noted that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a court cannot constitutionally force a defendant to accept counsel if he knowingly asks to represent himself in a timely manner, unless the court finds he is not competent to stand trial.
"We and the trial court alike are bound by the precedent of the United States Supreme Court," Baker wrote in Monday's 16-page ruling.
"Consequently, we are compelled to conclude that the trial court erred in denying Edwards's request to represent himself in his second trial, inasmuch as it had already found him competent to stand trial."
Posted by Marcia Oddi on September 19, 2006 10:55 AM
Posted to Ind. App.Ct. Decisions