CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
Court of Appeals of Alaska (2023)
Sarah Edwards
In Taylor v. State of Alaska, 536 P.3d 247 (Alaska Ct. App. 2023), the court of appeals held that defendants cannot raise a claim that they were denied the right to self-representation for the first time on a direct appeal from a guilty plea. (Id. at 252). Taylor was arrested and charged with felony eluding and driving with a revoked license while on probation for other felonies. (Id. at 249). He was appointed an attorney to represent him in the case. (Id.). He was later charged with forgery and offering a false instrument for recording and appointed a new attorney in this case. (Id.). At a representation hearing, Taylor asked to represent himself in the felony eluding case but keep his appointed attorney in the forgery case. (Id.) When he was unable to answer questions about the relevant law, the court denied his request to represent himself. (Id.). Taylor accepted a plea deal in both cases and was sentenced to four years in prison. (Id. at 249-50). He appealed the felony eluding conviction, arguing that the trial court erred by not allowing him to represent himself. (Id. at 250). Taylor argued that the court’s denial rendered his plea involuntary. (Id.). The court of appeals held that defendants challenging the voluntariness of a guilty plea must file a motion under Criminal Rule 11(h). (Id.). The court of appeals reasoned that even erroneous denial of the right to self-representation does not categorically make a guilty plea involuntary. (Id. at 252). Factual development of the record is needed to determine voluntariness, and thus cannot be litigated on direct appeal. (Id.). In affirming the superior court’s ruling, the court of appeals held that a defendant’s claim that they were erroneously denied the right to self-representation cannot be raised for the first time on direct appeal from a guilty plea. (Id.).
