The question of whether an initial appearance can be a critical stage is a case of first impression on this Court. Criminal defendants from every State, and from every Circuit within the United States are appearing before County, State, and Federal Judges without the aid of counsel during their initial appearances. During these initial appearances criminal defendant's are being subjected to crafty Public Prosecutors, and Judges who violate the lone criminal defendant's rights because counsel is not present to protect the rights of the criminal defendant. In some cases, like the case at bar, the criminal defendant is appearing before the court for an initial appearance on a sealed criminal indictment, with no counsel present, and no federal public defender present to protect the rights of the criminal defendant. In many federal districts around the country, this is normal procedure in courtrooms around the United States.

Without counsel at a criminal defendant's initial appearance, errors of constitutional magnitude can occur, and go undetected throughout the criminal defendant's trial, and for years to come. Criminal defendant's with felony cases should never appear before any judge, the public prosecutor along with the FBI, US Marshal Agents, and Police Officers who are all involved in the criminal case and who are present, without the aid of counsel during his initial appearance.

The Petitioner in this sealed matter required aid in coping with legal problems, and help in meeting his expert adversary. The Petitioner in this case was facing death by incarceration, and he received 13 consecutive life sentences as a result of counsel being completely absent during his initial appearance because no counsel was present to detect the constitutional errors that occurred during his initial appearance while uncounseled.

The constitutional errors went undetected throughout the trial, and for 8 years afterwards. The Supreme Court has no precedent acknowledging, and identifying that an initial appearance can be a critical stage within the framework set out in the United States v. Cronic. 466 U.S. 648, 658-59, 104 S. Ct. 2039, 2046-47, 80 L. Ed. 2d 657 (1984), if counsel is completely denied during a initial appearance in which criminal defendant's rights maybe violated, or are violated. A criminal defendant who is appearing before any federal or state court on a sealed criminal indictment should never appear before any court without the guiding hand of counsel. And the sealed criminal indictment should not be unsealed until counsel for the criminal defendant is present in order to protect the rights of the criminal defendant. If the criminal defendant can not afford counsel, then counsel must be appointed for the limited purposes of unsealing the criminal indictment. It's time that this Honorable Court include "Initial Appearances" as being a critical stage of the proceedings as it has done with preliminary hearings, the entry of a plea, arraignment, etc. .

Whether an initial appearance can be a critical stage