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Criminal Law - Right To Counsel - Custodial Criminal Defendant May Not Waive Right To Counsel In The Absence Of His Court-Appointed Attorney, Stuart J. Feld

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This case note examines the New York Court of Appeals' decision in People v. Hobson, 39 N.Y.2d 479, 348 N.E.2d 894, 384 N.Y.S.2d 419 (1976), which held that once a counsel has been engaged in a criminal proceeding a defendant may not waive his right to counsel when his lawyer is not present. The case note discusses the evolution in protection levels afforded defendants in New York as well as in decisions by the United States Supreme Court and suggests that the Hobson decision's impact is enormous as it resurrects two important pro-defendant rules that were previously overruled. The Hobson …