United States v. Turner

The Ninth Circuit affirmed defendant's convictions for two separate fraud schemes pursuant to trials in 2009 and 2012. The panel held that defendant's Sixth Amendment right to counsel was not violated in the 2009 case when the district court partially rejected the eighth request for a continuance, after continuing the trial for over two and half years; the district court reasonably concluded that defendant had repeatedly alternated between invoking his right to self-representation and his right to counsel in order to manipulate proceedings and cause delay and thus his Sixth Amendment claim in the 2012 case was rejected; and the district court did not err in refusing to authorize funds to hire a psychiatrist to conduct a mental evaluation, in not sua sponte conducting a competency hearing, and in not declaring a mistrial during the 2012 trial. In this case, a reasonable court would not doubt defendant's competency. View "United States v. Turner" on Justia Law