McDonald v. State

The primary issue in this criminal appeal is whether appellant, Calvin McDonald, was improperly denied the right to represent himself and to make his own defense. The essential inquiries to be made by the trial court when a criminal defendant seeks to handle his own defense are outlined in Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806, 95 S.Ct. 2525, 45 L.Ed.2d 562 (1975). See also Jones v. State, 584 So.2d 120 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991); Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.111.

The inquiry made below did not satisfy these minimal requirements; thus denial of appellant’s request was reversible error. This error was made more…