Godinez v. Moran
Supreme Court
509 U.S. 389 (1993)
Relevant factsFree
A capital murder defendant fired his attorneys, waived his right to counsel, and pled guilty, was convicted and sentenced to death, and later argued on appeal that he lacked sufficient competency to validly waive counsel and plead guilty, contending a higher competency standard should apply to those decisions than the standard used for competency to stand trial.
IssueFree
Whether the competency standard for pleading guilty or waiving the right to counsel is higher than the competency standard used to determine competency to stand trial.