Can a defendant who has entered a guilty plea for the purposes of pleading not guilty to a charge of assault have the option of representing himself at trial?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Mathis, B282869 (Cal. App. 2019):

6. As one court observed, the advisement "of 'the range of allowable punishments attendant upon the entry of a guilty plea' cannot practically be applied to a defendant desiring to represent himself at trial. The essential difference is that, while in a guilty plea setting the crimes and enhancements for which the defendant can be punished are known, in a case such as ours where the defendant is going to trial the jury may or may not convict the defendant of the crimes or find true the enhancement allegations. This makes it impractical to try to predict the possible terms and enhancements that will eventually be available to the trial court at sentencing." (People v. Jackio (2015) 236 Cal.App.4th 445, 454.)

7. In his reply brief, defendant argues for the first time that the comments are irrelevant and nonresponsive; they were inadmissible legal opinions; the advice to retain a lawyer amounted to the unauthorized practice of law; and they were improper expert testimony. "'[I]t is elementary that points raised for the first time in a reply brief are not considered by the court.'" (People v. James (2011) 202 Cal.App.4th 323, 328, fn. 3.)

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