Commonwealth v. Terry

Opinion of the Court by

Chief Justice MINTON.

The United States Supreme Court held more than thirty years ago that a criminal defendant could not be forced to accept representation by a state-appointed attorney so long as the defendant was “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.” 1 Although later decisions have shown that trial courts need not use “magic words” or repeat a standardized litany before granting a defendant’s request for self-representation, 2 the…