Bruce McGregor Davis v. Paul J. Morris, Warden

Davis was convicted in California in 1972 of two counts of first degree murder and of one count of conspiracy to commit murder and robbery. He was sentenced to concurrent life sentences with the judge’s recommendation that he not be released during his lifetime unless the California Adult Authority was convinced that he would not be a danger to the community.

We have reviewed the arguments raised by Davis and find them to be unpersuasive. We restrict our discussion to the single issue of his right to represent himself at his trial. When he sought to assert this right at the outset of his trial, after careful and thorough questioning, the judge centered his attention on Davis’ ability to conduct his defense so as to preserve his constitutional rights. He then concluded that Davis was not authorized to waive his constitutional right to representation by counsel, a determination that was consistent with California law prior to the United States Supreme Court’s decision three years later in Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806 , 95 S.Ct. 2525 , 45 L.Ed.2d 562 (1975). The subject was thereafter renewed but again the trial judge, after questioning Davis, concluded that Davis ought to…