ORDER

AND NOW, this 28th day of AUGUST, 2008, the Petition for Allowance of Appeal is hereby GRANTED. The issues, rephrased for clarity, are:

(1) Is a criminal defendant’s request to represent himself or herself timely where the defendant makes the request after the denial of a pre-trial *1013 motion and just prior to the commencement of a bench trial?

(2) At a bench trial, where a defendant has indicated his or her readiness to proceed pro se, is it an abuse of discretion to deny the pro se request without conducting a colloquy as required by Pa.R.Crim.P. 121(C)?

The parties are directed to submit the matter on briefs.