Faretta v. California

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Anthony Faretta v. State of California

Supreme Court of the United States

Argued November 19, 1974
Decided June 30, 1975


Full case name:	Anthony Faretta v. State of California

Citations:	422 U.S. 806; 422 U.S. 806, 95 S. Ct. 2525, 45 L. Ed. 2d 562, 1975 U.S. LEXIS 83 (1975)

Prior history:	On writ of Certiorari to the Court of Appeal of California, Second Appellate District

Holding

A criminal defendant in a state proceeding has a constitutional right to knowingly refuse the aid of an attorney. Judgment vacated.

Court membership

Chief Justice: Warren E. Burger
Associate Justices: William O. Douglas, William J. Brennan, Potter Stewart, Byron White, Thurgood Marshall, Harry Blackmun, Lewis Franklin Powell, Jr., William Rehnquist

Case opinions

Majority by: Stewart
Joined by: Douglas, Brennan, White, Marshall, and Powell
Dissent by: Burger
Joined by: Blackman, Rehnquist
Dissent by: Blackman
Joined by: Burger, Rehnquist

Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806 (1975)^[1], was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that criminal defendants have a constitutional right to refuse counsel in state criminal proceedings.

The defendant Anthony Faretta was accused of grand theft in Los Angeles County, California. Well before trial the defendant requested permission to represent himself at trial. After an admonition, the court granted his request, but later reversed the ruling and required a public defender to conduct the trial on the defendant's behalf. The jury found the defendant guilty, and the judgment was affirmed by the intermediate appellate court, and the California Supreme Court denied review.

In an opinion by Stewart, the court held that a defendant in a state criminal trial has the constitutional right to refuse appointed counsel and conduct the trial when he or she volutarily and intelligently elects to do so.