Category: URCrP008

URCrP008. Appointment of Counsel. Amend. The Supreme Court’s Advisory Committee on the Rules of Criminal Procedure recently amended Rule 8 to clarify the responsibility of judges during a self-representation colloquy to waive the right to counsel. The Committee’s efforts aimed to emphasize the right to self-representation as a constitutional right directly related to the right to counsel and the right to appointed counsel for indigent defendants. Additional provisions to the Rule include amendments to the qualifications for appointment on capital cases to require that attorneys representing those defendants have sufficient criminal practice, experience, and training. The Rule is approved for a 45-day public comment period.

URCrP008. Appointment of counsel. Amend. The Supreme Court has requested an additional round of public comment to Rule 8. The current proposal changes the process of securing a waiver of the right to counsel and the appointment of counsel in capital cases.

URCrP008.  Appointment of counsel. (AMEND). The language of this rule has been amended to clarify when the right to counsel applies to defendants charged with a criminal offense. The rule also includes a new subsection to explain the right to self-representation and how a defendant may waive the right to counsel. The colloquy courts should engage with defendants seeking to waive the right is provided in this addition. Finally, the rule clarifies the prerequisite qualifications for attorneys appointed to represent defendants charged in capital cases.