California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Heavens, C082037 (Cal. App. 2017):
Despite defendant's contentions, he failed to make any " 'clear indication' " that he wanted a substitute attorney. (People v. Sanchez, supra, 53 Cal.4th at p. 90.) Read as a whole, defendant's statements indicate that he wanted a jury trial because he claimed he did not rape the victim. As such, he wanted to withdraw his plea and proceed to trial, where he would be represented by a lawyer. Defendant never criticized his current lawyer or otherwise indicated he wanted to be represented by a different lawyer. Moreover, in the context of defendant's desire to withdraw his plea and proceed to trial, the trial court's statement regarding defense counsel's performance indicates it thought defendant received a fair plea deal. We reject defendant's claim.
The judgment is affirmed.
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