Court reinstates carjacking in flap over lawyer

DETROIT (AP) — A federal appeals court has reinstated the carjacking and armed robbery conviction of a man who argued that he was forced to act as his own lawyer at age 18.

Omar Pouncy said his rights were violated in Genesee County when he felt he had to represent himself rather than rely on a court-appointed lawyer whom he felt was unprepared.
A federal judge last year threw out his conviction. But in a 2-1 decision last Friday, the appeals court reversed it.

The court said the legal standard to set aside the conviction is high and limited, and Pouncy’s appeal doesn’t fit. But the appeals court also sent the case back to the Detroit judge for consideration of other issues.

Pouncy was sentenced in 2006 to more than 40 years in prison.