Com. v. Carlson, M. No. 1801 WDA 2019
In Commonwealth v. Carlson, the defendant was charged with aggravated assault and related crimes following a domestic incident. He was appointed a public defender who represented him at the preliminary hearing and for a significant portion of the case at the trial level. At some point, the defendant got a new job and his public defender filed a motion to withdraw as counsel stating that the defendants new income disqualified him from representation by appointed counsel. The defendant stated that he wanted his attorney to continue representation but the court granted the public defender’s motion to withdraw without even having an evidentiary hearing.
The defendant requested several continuances to obtain counsel and was unable to do so in part because he broke his arm and required surgery and in part because he was not making enough money to meet all of his financial obligations and pay for a lawyer. The court ultimately required that he go to trial pro se. The defendant said almost nothing at his trial claiming that he did not want to speak without a lawyer.
He was convicted and ultimately appealed. The superior court found that the trial court violated his 6th amendment right to counsel by failing to conduct an evidentiary hearing to determine if he was able to obtain an attorney. While indigency is one factor to consider, it is not the only factor. The court has the ability to appoint counsel if it is in the interest of justice to do so and the superior court found that the court was unable to make that determination because they held no hearing. The judgment of sentence is vacated and the case is remanded. The trial court is directed to conduct a full evidentiary hearing if appointed counsel is requested by the defendant to determine his eligibility. If the court finds him ineligible, they must state the precise reasons why on the record.
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