Don Garriga Chapman v. United States

GOLDBERG, Circuit Judge:

This appeal from the denial of a motion to vacate sentence presents the question whether a criminal defendant who unequivocally asserts the right to defend pro se after his court appointed attorney has announced, “ready for trial,” but before the jury has been empaneled, is entitled to represent himself as a matter of constitutional or statutory law. We hold that a demand for self-representation must be honored as timely if made before the jury is selected, absent an affirmative showing that it was a tactic to secure delay.

Don Garriga Chapman, for whom designated…