Waiver of Right to Counsel

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: United States of America v. Perry Harrington

Case No.: 14-3010; 14-3028

Officials: POSNER, KANNE, and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Waiver of Right to Counsel

Appellant that requested that court discharged court appointed counsel twice unsuccessfully argues he was deprived of his right to counsel.

“Harrington was already well aware of the charges and their severity. He had already gone through trial with coun‐sel and been convicted of the charges. He had reviewed the PSR with attorney Loeffel, so he was aware of the penalties he was facing and the factors relevant to sentencing. Besides, the judge did warn Harrington that proceeding alone was “as bad an idea as you may have ever had” and would not serve Harrington well. See United States v. Hoskins, 243 F.3d 407, 409 (7th Cir. 2001) (upholding waiver of counsel after trial where district court advised defendant that he “would be far better off being defended by a trained lawyer” and it would be “unwise” to defend himself given complexity of the case).”

Affirmed

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.