State ex rel. Schmitz v. Knight

*293¶1 — When an adjudication may result in incarceration, the accused has the right to counsel under the state and federal constitutions.1 This right applies equally in contempt proceedings. The right to counsel can be waived or forfeited, but absent express warnings on the record about the consequences of proceeding pro se, the right is forfeited only by extremely dilatory conduct. Failure to apply for a public defender despite warnings from the State that it would seek jail time and repeated instructions from the court to do so is certainly dilatory, but it does not rise to the level of…