Robert Has Been Arrested for Three Counts of Passing Checks

Essay

Robert has been arrested for three counts of passing checks with insufficient funds, with amounts that were collectively a misdemeanor in his city of residence. If he is found guilty, Robert could serve five and a half months in jail. He has been reading the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and feels that he should be entitled to an attorney. He also believes, however, that he can represent himself if he goes to trial. He wants to move any trial to another city because he has made the headlines already when he ran for office. If he is convicted, he plans to claim that he had ineffective assistance of counsel, because, after all, he is not an attorney. He wants to have a jury trial and bring in witnesses that can state he broke his hand and therefore could not be the individual who wrote the checks. What constitutional amendments will be considered and what will the results likely be?