California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Anderson, B276741 (Cal. App. 2017):
Parshall responded by ceasing the interrogation. Defendant then "initiated" further discussion with Parshall within minutes by asking another officer if he could talk with Parshall again. (People v. Mickey, supra, 54 Cal.3d at pp. 648-649.) In response to defendant's queries, Parshall explained that the district attorney was responsible for the charging decision and that defendant would be assigned a public defender at his arraignment two days hence. Parshall also offered to provide defendant with a phone so he could contact a private attorney, noted that an attorney would probably tell him not to talk, and reiterated a willingness to listen only if defendant "unequivocally and intelligently wanted to talk to me about what happened." Only then did defendant affirmatively state that he would be "happy to" talk to Parshall, a desire he reiterated when Parshall asked him if he was "sure about this." We find no error in the trial court's conclusion that these circumstances were indicative of defendant's understanding and voluntary waiver of his right to counsel.
The above passage should not be considered legal advice. Reliable answers to complex legal questions require comprehensive research memos. To learn more visit www.alexi.com.