Faretta holds that a defendant who competently and intelligently chooses to represent himself may do so. The court must honor the choice; it may appoint standby counsel; it may not force a lawyer on a defendant who validly waives one.
The right is won at the counter, not the podium
The practical destruction of the Faretta right almost never happens in a courtroom. It happens at intake — a filing refused because the litigant is not a lawyer, a document classified so it is never heard, an appearance that never gets admitted. A right to represent yourself that does not include a right to file is decorative.
The documented example
On June 8, 2026, a Lake County clerk email refused a pro se filing path, stating the motion had to be filed by an attorney — while, as a public defender later wrote, the office had not been reappointed. See the June 8 refusal and the filing-access standard.