Scott

Defendant and appellant Wesley E. Scott (Scott) brought a motion to proceed in propria persona on appeal.

In the landmark case of Faretta v. California (1975) 422 U.S. 806, 818-832 [ 95 S.Ct. 2525, 2532-2539 , 45 L.Ed.2d 562 ] (Faretta), the United States Supreme Court ruled that implicit in a criminal defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to the assistance of counsel at trial is the right to self-representation at trial. The following year, In re Walker (1976) 56 Cal.App.3d 225 , 228-229 [ 128 Cal.Rptr. 291 ], held the right to self-representation under Faretta does not extend to a state criminal appeal. Over the past two decades, as discussed below, there has developed a growing split of authority in other jurisdictions as to whether the Sixth Amendment right to self-representation at a criminal trial recognized by Faretta extends to the appeal. Therefore, we deemed it appropriate to examine the continued viability of In re Walker, supra, 56 Cal.App.3d 225 , which is over 20 years old and the sole California case on the issue. Consequently, in response to Scott’s request to proceed in propria persona, this court sent the parties a three-page letter setting forth issues to…