State v. Graves
Annotate this CaseRespondent was charged with second-degree assault and drug offenses. Respondent and defense counsel, a public defender, later appeared for a motions hearing, and defense counsel moved for a postponement, indicating that Respondent wished to obtain a postponement to hire private counsel that Respondent had retained in the past. The district court denied the request to postpone the motions hearing and denied Respondent’s request to replace his counsel. A jury subsequently found Respondent guilty. Respondent appealed, arguing that the circuit court failed to comply with Md. Rule 4-215(e) by never asking him why he wished to replace his counsel. The Court of Special Appeals agreed, concluding that defense counsel’s request for a postponement required that the circuit court permit Respondent to explain the reasons for the request and that this requirement was not satisfied at the motions hearing. The Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that, under the circumstances of this case, Rule 4-215(e) required that the circuit court seek an explanation for the request to discharge counsel from Defendant or ensure that Defendant agreed with the reasons proffered by defense counsel.
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