California Court of Appeal

Conviction and sentence for animal cruelty and exhibiting a deadly weapon other than a firearm are affirmed over defendant's claims that: 1) the trial court violated due process by allowing him to represent himself while he was mentally incompetent; 2) the court did not conduct a full evidentiary hearing on the question of mental competence; 3) appointed counsel rendered ineffective assistance when he did not insist on a full evidentiary hearing; and 4) imposition of the upper term sentence for animal cruelty violated defendant's right to a jury trial.

Appellate Information

• Decided 01/22/2008
• Published 01/22/2008

Judges

• COFFEE, J.

Court

• California Court of Appeal

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Lynette Moore,William S. Mount, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant., Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Pamela C. Hamanaka, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Lawrence M. Daniels, Supervising Deputy Attorney General, Yun K. Lee, Deputy Attorney General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.