Philmon Deshawn Chambers v. United States

This Court recognizes that the right to counsel is “necessary to insure fundamental human rights of life and liberty.” Johnson v. Zerbst, 304 U.S. 458, 462 (1938). It also recognizes that the Sixth Amendment includes a right to self-representation. Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806, 819–820 (1975). It has not outlined baseline requirements for standby representation, nor hast it established a standard to evaluate attorney effectiveness when standby counsel is forced into a case with inadequate preparation time. Therefore, the questions presented are:

1. If a court utilizes standby counsel, does the Sixth Amendment require that the court give standby counsel adequate time to prepare so they may try the case, if needed?

2. Does a court violate the Sixth Amendment when it replaces standby counsel and forces replacement standby counsel to take over the representation without adequate time to prepare?