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http://cc.msnscache.com/cache.aspx?q=72321207250814&mkt=en-US⟨=en-US&w=fd1ff798&FORM=CVRE8

Defendant & Appellant: DAWNISSE SMITH,

On March 15, 2006, Smith appeared in court with her attorney, Deputy Public Defender Lisa Strassner, and stated, “I would like Ms. Strassner to step down. [¶] Today is my fifth court date. I’ve had four different attorneys. Nobody is interested in my life. [¶] She—she just had the nerve to come out and tell me she just ended a trial and she’s starting another one. [¶] She won’t look at me in my face. She’s talking through glass. [¶] I would like to go pro per.” Ms. Strassner responded, “[t]his is a Marsden.”2 After the prosecutor left the courtroom, Smith began speaking rapidly, and the court had to tell her to slow down. Smith complained that her attorney was not prepared to proceed with the trial, and believed she had misrepresented to her that the delay was necessary to obtain a copy of the video surveillance tape of the incident. She also complained that counsel had refused to give her a copy of the police report and the preliminary hearing transcript, and stated, “I don’t feel like—I’m a very spiritual woman. And I feel very—I don’t get a good feeling from her at all. I don’t feel like my freedom is at all important to her. [¶] She tells me today, she has just ended a trial, and she’s beginning another one. My life is just as important as that.” She added: “This is my life. This is my fourth attorney. I asked her when I came here—when we came February 14th, I looked her in the eyes, and I said, ‘Please, I need to know you’re for me.’ [¶] I don’t get that feeling. I don’t feel comfortable with her.” The court asked Smith if there was anything else she wanted to say, and she responded, “That I would like to go pro per.”