In Re Kubler

Opinion

ELKINGTON, J.

We construe Robert Kubler’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus as contending that his superior court attorney, the public defender, withdrew “a crucial defense from the case” by failing to enter a plea of “Not guilty by reason of insanity,” as permitted by Penal Code section 1016, subdivision 6, thereby rendering Kubler’s trial representa tion constitutionally inadequate. (See People v. Najera, 8 Cal.3d 504, 516 [105 Cal.Rptr. 345, 503 P.2d 1353].)

Kubler, having waived trial by jury, was found guilty by the court of (1) assault upon one known by him to be a police…