Cordova

We must evaluate under AEDPA a state court’s decision to apply harmless error review where a criminal defendant was not represented by counsel at trial, following a defective waiver of his right to counsel.

Facts

Petitioner Henry Cordova was arrested outside his home after an altercation involving his neighbors. He was handcuffed by a Deputy Sheriff and placed in the back seat of a patrol car. After the deputy entered the ear and sat in the driver’s *925 seat, Cordova either sneezed (his story) or spit (the deputy’s story), as a result of which something unsavory landed on the deputy’s face.

Cordova was charged in the South Bay Municipal Court with three misdemeanor counts of battery — two on his neighbors, the third on the deputy. Cordova was not eligible for representation by the Public Defender, and he vacillated as to whether he would hire a lawyer or represent himself. The trial judge, everyone agrees, did not admonish him as required by Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806 , 95 S.Ct. 2525 , 45 L.Ed.2d 562 (1975), which held that a criminal defendant wanting to represent himself “should be made aware of the dangers and disadvantages of self-representation, so that…