Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, 2005

Byrd v. State

Byrd v. State
Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals · Decided March 18, 2005 · Wise, Baschab, Shaw, Cobb
919 So. 2d 1222; 2005 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 70; 2005 WL 628227 (Southern Reporter, Second Series)

Byrd v. State

Opinion of the Court

WISE, Judge.

AFFIRMED BY UNPUBLISHED MEMORANDUM.

*1223McMILLAN, P.J., and BASCHAB and SHAW, JJ., concur. COBB, J., concurs specially, with opinion.

Concurring Opinion

COBB, Judge,

concurring specially.

I write specially to point out that at first blush White v. State, 900 So.2d 1249 (Ala.Crim.App. 2004), and the case at hand appear to fly in the face of the guarantee in Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806, 95 S.Ct. 2525, 45 L.Ed.2d 562 (1975), that a defendant can, upon being apprised of the potential consequences and pitfalls of doing so, represent himself in a criminal matter. It is worth mentioning that, in both White and this case, the defendant did not complain after being appointed as cocounsel. That is, neither defendant reasserted his interest in representing himself, thereby acquiescing to the trial court’s decision. Therefore, I concur in the judgment of the majority as expressed in its unpublished memorandum.

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