State v. Cromwell

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Davis, J.:

Defendant James Cromwell appeals his jury conviction and his sentence for two counts of premeditated first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated robbery, two counts of rape, one count of aggravated criminal sodomy, and one count of theft.

Defendant contends: (1) he. was deprived of his. constitutional right to effective assistance of counsel or, in the alternative, the right to conduct his own defense; (2) he was denied his right to be present during trial; (3) the court erred in allowing the jury to consider evidence about the 1987 crimes…