Via New York Lawyer, Christopher Hoover made a hard choice.  When Collin County Judge John O. Barry directed him to start trial, even though he told the judge he wasn’t ready, Hoover decided “enough.” 

Hoover represented Darrel Cannon, whose case was 8th in line for trial before Judge Barry that day.  Hoover never anticipated that the court would reach his case, and didn’t prepare.  Whether he should have or not is another matter.  The fact is he didn’t.  So when Judge Barry ordered him to trial, Hoover admitted his lack of preparation.  The Judge didn’t care.  Hoover told the judge that he wasn’t going to participate.  He told his client that he wasn’t going to participate.  And he didn’t.

“Defense counsel, although physically present in the courtroom at all the requisite times, effectively boycotted the trial proceedings and entirely failed to subject the prosecution’s case to meaningful adversarial testing,” CCA Judge Charles Holcomb wrote for the majority.

While many lawyers would love to try a stunt like this, few have the guts to actually do so.  The very notion of sitting there, one’s hands falling lifelessly at one’s side, one’s voice silent and mind drifting off to far away exotic climes while the prosecution witnesses testify, seems impossible.  But Hoover did it.

Even though a defendant cannot, theoretically, be convicted without the effective assistance of counsel, the appellate court might well have taken the position that this was a deliberate strategic move on Hoover’s part to undermine the authority of the trial judge to move the case forward to trial, and that Hoover had the ability to provide effective (not perfect, mind you, or even decent, but the lowest possible degree, “effective”) assistance of counsel.  That he made a tactical decision to sit on his hands, with the approval of his client, fulfilled the constitutional obligation to the defendant.  Conviction affirmed.

I don’t think I could ever recommend that any other lawyer take the position that Christopher Hoover took.  I have sincere doubts that it would work again.  But, I have to give Christopher Hoover of Plano, Texas, credit for having a brass pair.  Or being nuts, whichever comes first.