Cedano-Perez

MEMORANDUM **

Carlos Arturo Cedano-Perez appeals his conviction, pursuant to a guilty plea, and sentence for unlawful reentry of a deported alien in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326 .

Cedano-Perez contends that the district court violated his Sixth Amendment right to proceed pro se by denying his request to represent himself. As we have said in *900 the past, “[w]e can find no constitutional rationale for placing trial courts in a position to be whipsawed by defendants clever enough to record an equivocal request to proceed without counsel in the expectation of a guaranteed error no matter which way the trial court rules,” 1 so any request to proceed pro se must be made unequivocally and explicitly. 2 Here, Cedano-Perez never unequivocally stated that he wanted to proceed pro se. When he was asked if he wanted his attorney or another to represent him, he said, ‘Well, I have no objection to both of them proceeding as my counsel.” Asked, “Will you permit Mr. Reed to stand with you?,” he replied, “No, sir. I will go by myself. I don’t want him here. I mean, I will need an attorney to file motions for me for downward departure and stuff like that but I don’t—I mean the guy right here,…