The New Jersey Appellate Court

This appeal illustrates how a trial judge denied a defendant his right to counsel by failing to enforce the procedural mechanism established by the Legislature and the Supreme Court to determine if a defendant qualifies for representation by the Office of the Public Defender. The judge compounded his error by misapplying State v. King, 210 N.J. 2 (2012), to find defendant was capable of representing himself in this criminal jury trial. Under these circumstances, our only recourse is to reverse defendant’s conviction and remand this matter for a new trial.