Self-Representation and More on Ineffective Assistance

In this chapter we continue our study of what constitutes effective (and ineffective) assistance of counsel in criminal cases. We also explore when a criminal defendant has the right to represent herself, even if a judge believes that she would be better served by a lawyer.

We begin with the Court’s application of Strickland v. Washington (Chapter 36) to cases in which no trial occurs because the defendant enters a plea of guilty.