Does a defendant who clearly chooses to represent himself and then clearly, voluntarily, and on the record, refuses to participate in his trial have a right to participate?

The same principles, however, do not apply "to cases where defendant clearly chooses to represent himself and then clearly, voluntarily, and on the record, refuses to participate in his trial." (People v. Carroll, supra, 140 Cal.App.3d at p. 144.) In that situation, the rule is that "a defendant who has exercised his right of self-representation by absenting himself from the proceedings, may not later claim error resulting from that exercise." (People v. Parento (1991) 235 Cal.App.3d 1378, 1381-1382.) "[A] defendant for an offense not punishable by death is entitled to absent himself from the proceedings [citations]. Further, it is settled that the right of a defendant to represent himself includes the right to decline to conduct any defense whatsoever. 'The choice of self-representation preserves for the defendant the option of conducting his defense by nonparticipation. [Citation.] A competent defendant has a right to choose "simply not to oppose the prosecution's case." [Citation.] . . . 'If the defendant chooses to defend himself by not participating in the trial, he, unlike his attorney, is free to do so, but once

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