Johnson v. State

I concur in the results reached in this decision. The trial judge did almost everything he could to assure that the defendant had legal representation, but the defendant declined to accept the attorney appointed for him. I believe in these situations that the trial judge should insist, notwithstanding the defendant’s right to properly waive counsel, that a standby counsel be appointed to advise the defendant. This should be done whether or not the defendant takes advantage of the assistance made available to him. The situation in this case was somewhat different to that found in Faretta v.…