People v. Simmons

Judgment unanimously affirmed. Memorandum: From our review of the record, we conclude that the trial court undertook searching inquiry to assure that defendant understood the value of counsel and the disadvantages of giving up his fundamental right to counsel before allowing him to proceed pro se (see, People v Kaltenbach, 60 NY2d 797, 799; People v Anderson, 125 AD2d 580, 581). Further, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying defendant’s request to relieve his assigned counsel (see, People v Tineo, 64 NY2d 531, 536-537). An indigent’s request for the court to assign new…