State v. Muhammad
State v. Muhammad
Opinion of the Court
*817Defendant appeals a judgment of conviction for two counts of third-degree sexual abuse, ORS 163.415, two counts of harassment, ORS 166.065, and one count of interfering with public transportation, ORS 166.116, contending that the trial court erred in denying his request to represent himself.
"when defendant informed the court that he wanted to represent himself, the court's inquiries related only to the reasons for defendant's decision, and whether defendant had reason to be unsatisfied with his appointed attorney. The court did not explore, on the record, whether defendant understood his right to counsel, or whether his request constituted an intentional relinquishment or abandonment of that right. The court ultimately concluded that defendant's reasons for requesting self-representation were 'not good enough reasons under the law[.]' "
Under the circumstances, the state agrees that the court failed to determine whether defendant's decision to represent himself was intelligent and understanding, and that the court erred in denying defendant's request based on its determination that defendant had provided insufficient reasons for wanting to represent himself. We agree, and accept the state's concession. See State v. Miller ,
Reversed and remanded.
Defendant also raises two assignments of error in which he asserts that the trial court plainly erred in failing to merge the two guilty verdicts for sexual abuse into a single conviction and in failing to merge the two guilty verdicts for harassment into a single conviction. In light of our disposition of the case, we do not address those assignments of error.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.