Commonwealth v. Godwin

The defendant appeals from his convictions on the sole basis that he was deprived of his right to court-appointed counsel, which raises the issue: What showing must a criminal defendant, who claims to be indigent, make to ensure that he receives court-appointed counsel? We hold that the defendant bears the burden of demonstrating that he is indigent and entitled to court-appointed counsel. Because our review of the record reveals that the defendant, an experienced criminal trial attorney from Virginia, did not meet this burden, we affirm the judgments.

*606Background. In October, 2001, the…