Barnes v. State

Sears, Presiding Justice.

Appellant L’Erin Barnes appealed her misdemeanor conviction to the Court of Appeals, claiming that she did not knowingly and intelligently waive her Sixth Amendment right to the assistance of counsel. The Court of Appeals declined to reach that issue, however, relying upon precedent that a criminal defendant who receives a suspended or probated prison sentence rather than a sentence of actual imprisonment has no right to court-appointed counsel. 1 2 We granted certiorari because we perceived a conflict between that ruling and the Court of Appeals’ ruling in Deren v.…