Certiorari to the Colorado Court of Appeals Court of Appeals
Case No. 13CA1431
Attorneys for Petitioner: Philip J. Weiser, Attorney General
Kevin E. McReynolds, Assistant Attorney General Denver,
Colorado
Attorneys for Respondent: Megan A. Ring, Public Defender
Kamela Maktabi, Deputy Public Defender Denver, Colorado
OPINION
HART
JUSTICE
¶1
On the day her trial was set to begin, April Travis told the
court that she was hoping she could have more time "to
look for and pay for an attorney." The trial court
denied the request to continue the case, noting that the
trial had previously been continued and Travis was already
being represented by a public defender. Travis appealed that
decision, arguing that her request to look for a lawyer was
an invocation of her Sixth Amendment right to be represented
by counsel of her choice. A division of the court of appeals
agreed, concluding that because Travis had invoked that
right, the trial court was required to make a record that it
had reviewed each of the factors elaborated in our decision
in People v. Brown, 2014 CO 25, 322 P.3d 214.
¶2
The right to be represented by counsel of the defendant's
choosing is not implicated by a bare request to "look
for and pay for" a new lawyer. The trial court was
therefore not obligated to review the Brown factors,
and its decision to deny Travis's trial-day continuance
request was not an abuse of discretion. Accordingly, we
reverse the decision of the court of appeals and remand for
proceedings consistent with this opinion.
I.
Facts and Procedural History
¶3
On November 20, 2011, Travis and her roommate, a disabled
woman for whom Travis was acting as a caregiver, got into a
fight. Travis punched her roommate in the face, hit her with
a mop handle multiple times, tore out clumps of her hair, and
stabbed her in the arm with a kitchen knife. Travis was
charged with two counts of assault in the second degree and
felony menacing.
¶4
On January 19, 2012, the public defender filed an entry of
appearance. On June 4, 2012, Travis entered a not guilty plea
as to all charges, and the court set Travis's case for
trial on November 26, 2012. Prior to the November 2012 trial
date, Travis requested a continuance so that she could
investigate what she described as issues regarding the
victim's character. The People objected to this request
for a continuance, but the trial court found good cause and
continued the jury trial. The case was reset for trial on
April 15, 2013.
¶5
At the pretrial conference, which was held five days before
the rescheduled trial, Travis's counsel explained to the
court that they had been unsuccessful in their attempts to
serve the witness who was the basis for Travis's previous
motion to continue. The witness was not an eyewitness to the
events that formed the basis for the charges, but would,
apparently, have spoken to the victim's character and
credibility. The trial court told Travis that even if she was
unable to secure this witness for trial, he would not grant
an additional continuance.
¶6
On the morning of trial, Travis made the following request:
"My request was that I was going to look for and pay for
an attorney. I don't feel this case is fair regarding
[the victim]. There's a lot of stuff that needs to come
out about her. I don't think it's fair to me."
The court then stated:
Well, Ms. Travis, I understand that. This case has been
pending for a very long time. You have had plenty of time to
decide if you were wanting to hire counsel. [Your public
defenders] are extremely experienced and careful attorneys.
They have filed all of the appropriate motions. They have
worked very hard on your case.
There are rulings that the Court makes that are the
Court's responsibility. [Your public defenders] filed
motions and made requests, some of which I granted and some
of which I denied. Regardless of who the attorney is standing
in front of me, I make legal decisions. I don't base them
on personalities.
The Court is not going to continue this case. If you are
dissatisfied with their representation because you think that
they are not adequately representing you and you wish to
proceed to trial on your ...