Louisiana v. Mathieu
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The State charged Defendant John Mathieu with second degree kidnapping after an incident which Defendant, armed with a gun, confronted his ex-wife in a parking lot at her place of employment, forced her into her car and made her drive out of state. After a trial by jury, Defendant was found guilty as charged. Defendant conducted portions of the trial in his own right, including the cross-examination of his ex-wife and other State witnesses, which his court-appointed attorney conducted jury selection and other portions of the trial. Defendant was sentenced to thirty years' imprisonment at hard labor with the first two years without probation or parole. On appeal, the Fifth Circuit conditionally affirmed Defendant's conviction and sentence, but remanded the case to the trial court to determine whether Defendant made a clear and unequivocal request to represent himself and whether the judge made sufficient inquiries into Defendant's competency to waive counsel and represent himself. Upon review of the trial record, the Supreme Court found that nothing in the record suggested that Defendant was not capable of choosing his "hybrid" representation knowingly and voluntarily. The Court affirmed Defendant's conviction and sentence.
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