Freeman v. The State

Summary

The Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed William Freeman’s convictions for four counts of child molestation. The court held that Freeman knowingly and voluntarily waived his right to counsel after a Faretta hearing, and that the trial court was not required to conduct a second inquiry after the indictment was amended to add two substantially similar charges. The court also rejected Freeman’s argument that he did not understand the risks of self-representation.

Holdings

1. The trial court did not abuse its discretion by allowing Freeman to continue representing himself without conducting a second Faretta hearing because the amended indictment added only two substantially similar child-molestation counts involving the same victim and time period, did not increase the maximum sentence he faced, and Freeman never requested counsel after the amendment.
2. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in finding that Freeman knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waived his right to counsel.
3. The appellate court would not review a purported failure to reconsider Freeman's waiver because Freeman never made a post-waiver request for counsel and therefore there was no trial-court ruling to review for abuse of discretion.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the trial court erred by failing to conduct a second Faretta inquiry after the State amended the indictment to add two additional child-molestation counts.
2. Whether the trial court abused its discretion in finding that Freeman knowingly and voluntarily waived his right to counsel despite allegedly failing to understand the risks of self-representation.
3. Whether Freeman could obtain appellate relief based on the trial court's failure to reconsider his waiver when he did not make a post-waiver request for counsel in the trial court.

Disposition

affirmed