United States v. Smith, 14085.

• Decision Date: 23 June 1970
• Docket Number: No. 14085.,14085.
• Citation: United States v. Smith, 428 F.2d 1183 (4th Cir. 1970)
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Carl George SMITH, Jr., Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit

428 F.2d 1183 (1970)

UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Carl George SMITH, Jr., Appellant.

No. 14085.

United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.

Argued June 1, 1970.

Decided June 23, 1970.

H. Harrison Braxton, Jr. (Court-appointed counsel), for appellant.

David H. Hopkins, Asst. U. S. Atty. (Brian P. Gettings, U. S. Atty., on the brief), for appellee.

Before HAYNSWORTH, Chief Judge, SOBELOFF, Circuit Judge, and WIDENER, District Judge.

PER CURIAM:

During his trial for the robbery of a bank, the defendant became dissatisfied with the performance of his trial lawyer. He sought his discharge and permission to proceed alone and on his own behalf without counsel. After close questioning of the defendant and his lawyer, the trial judge permitted the client to examine the witnesses, but required the court-appointed lawyer to remain present to examine the defendant when the defendant took the witness stand, and, at the conclusion of the testimony, the lawyer made the summation to the jury.

In these rulings we think the trial judge acted with a meticulous concern for the defendant's rights.

Conscientious appellate counsel advances the contention, however, that the trial judge should have probed more deeply than he did into the nature and the extent of the client's dissatisfaction with his trial lawyer. Had he done so, it is said, a basis might have appeared for some other course of action by the trial judge. He is unable to suggest, however, what information further inquiry might have disclosed in light of the fact that, so far as can be told from the record, itself, trial counsel seems to have been well prepared and seems to have been performing effectively.

We do not think such a contention, with no basis for belief that the...