Volume 268 — Indiana Reports

1. CRIMINAL LAW — <italic>Discharge of Counsel — Defendant May Not Delay</italic> <italic>Trial.</italic> — While a defendant charged with having committed a felony must be allowed representation by counsel, a defendant may not through a deliberate process of discharging retained or assigned counsel whenever his case is called for trial, disrupt sound judicial administration by such delaying tactics. p. 71. 2. CRIMINAL LAW — <italic>Refusal of Replacement Counsel.</italic> — Trial courts may refuse to allow a defendant to replace his counsel during or immediately before a trial. p. 71.<page_number>Page 68</page_number> 3. CRIMINAL LAW — <italic>Self-representation by Defendant.</italic> — A criminal defendant has the right to represent himself as long as that choice is made knowingly and intelligently. p. 71. 4. CRIMINAL LAW — <italic>Discharge of Counsel — Self-representation.</italic> — Trial court did not err in ordering trial to proceed with defendant representing himself after discharging his attorney where the jury had already been impaneled, counsel had been preparing for trial for over four months, there was no evidence of ineffectiveness of counsel, and where defendant was adequately advised of the dangers of representing himself. p. 71. 5. CRIMINAL LAW — <italic>Discharge of Counsel — No Error in Denying</italic> <italic>Continuance.</italic> — There was no trial court error in denying defendant's requests for a continuance after the trial had started and he had chosen to discharge his attorney and represent himself. p. 72. 6. CRIMINAL LAW — <italic>Appointment of Standby Counsel.</italic> — The trial court's appointment of standby counsel is the recommended procedure to preserve defendant's rights when he elects to represent himself. p. 73. 7. CRIMINAL LAW — <italic>Termination of Self-representation.</italic> — A trial judge may terminate self-representation by a defendant who deliberately engages in serious or obstructionist misconduct. p. 73. 8. CRIMINAL LAW — <italic>Appointment of Standby Counsel — Proper Where</italic> <italic>Defendant Refused to Continue.</italic> — There was no trial court error in appointing standby counsel and ordering him to take over the defense where defendant abandoned his defense and said he would not participate further and where defendant had been abusive in his cross-examination of the prosecuting witness and had been warned several times about being argumentative with the witness and the court. p. 73. 9. EVIDENCE — <italic>Admission of Hearsay — Harmless in Light of Other</italic> <italic>Evidence.</italic> — Admission of testimony of victim regarding an obscene statement made by a co-defendant which could be interpreted as implicating the defendant, even if hearsay, would be harmless error in light of the amount and probative value of other evidence in the record tending to sustain the finding of guilty. p. 74.