Opinion
2:22-CR-00101-JHC
01-26-2023
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. JUAN E. HERNANDEZ-HERNANDEZ, Defendant.
ORDER
John H. Chun United States District Judge
Before the court is Defendant Juan E. Hernandez-Hernandez's motion to withdraw guilty plea and for appointment of new counsel. See Dkt. # 42. Mr. Hernandez-Hernandez is represented by counsel. See generally Dkt. Therefore, Mr. Hernandez-Hernandez may not file a pro se motion unless he complies with the requirements of Local Civil Rule 83.2(b)(5), which applies in criminal cases, too. See Local Criminal Rule 1(a) (adopting Local Civil Rule 83.2(b) for criminal proceedings). Local Civil Rule 83.2(b)(5) requires that a represented party seeking to appear or act pro se must “request[] by motion to proceed on his or her own behalf, certif[y] in the motion that he or she has provided copies of the motion to his or her current counsel and to the opposing party, and [receive from the court] an order of substitution by the court terminating the party's attorney.” See also United States v. Halbert, 640 F.2d 1000, 1009 (9th Cir. 1981) (“A criminal defendant does not have an absolute right to both self-representation and the assistance of counsel....Whether to allow hybrid representation remains within the sound discretion of the trial judge.”). In other words, before Mr. Hernandez-Hernandez is allowed to request the kind of relief he seeks, he must file a motion to proceed pro se which certifies that he provided copies of the motion to his own counsel and opposing counsel, and must wait for a court order allowing him to proceed pro se. The court directs Mr. Hernandez-Hernandez to contact his counsel to discuss his current situation and the relief he seeks.
The Court notes that Mr. Hernandez-Hernandez's counsel has already filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea. Dkt. # 41.
Because Mr. Hernandez-Hernandez improperly filed his motion pro se, the Court STRIKES the motion (Dkt. # 42) from the docket.