Shelton v. State

I disagree with the majority opinion, which holds that there is no right to counsel in a misdemeanor case when a trial court imposes a sentence of imprisonment and then suspends that sentence or places the defendant on probation. The majority states that "extending all the protections afforded defendants facing felony charges to those misdemeanor defendants who are not in danger of being incarcerated would be a huge leap from the current state of the law in Alabama." However, a defendant whose sentence has been suspended or probated is in danger of being incarcerated because the court retains…