Danny Ray Scarbrough, Appellant v. the State of Texas, Appellee

Summary

The Court held that the trial court improperly denied Danny Ray Scarbrough his Sixth Amendment right to self‑representation, reversing the lower courts' judgments and remanding for further proceedings. The decision emphasizes that a denial of the right to self‑representation is not subject to harmless‑error analysis and that hybrid representation is not a permissible alternative. Justice Teague filed a brief concurrence noting the same result. The Court also clarified that a defendant must be given a clear choice between self‑representation and counsel, without a conditional or hybrid option.