No. 25-6939

Guadalupe Pelayo v. Arizona

Lower Court: Arizona
Docketed: 2026-03-03
Status: Pending
Type: IFP
IFP
Tags: colloquy fifth-amendment fourteenth-amendment right-to-testify sixth-amendment structural-error
Latest Conference: N/A
Question Presented (from Petition)

I. Does the United States Constitution require a colloquy between the judge and a criminal defendant regarding the accused's decision on whether to testify at trial?

II. If an inquiry by the trial judge is required, does the colloquy need to determine whether the benefits and risks of that decision have been discussed between the defendant and his or her attorney for the judge to find that the defendant's decision on whether to testify was made "intelligently"?

III. If the court violated the Constitution when it found that Petitioner's waiving his right to testify at trial was made "intelligently" is the error structural?

Question Presented (AI Summary)

Whether the United States Constitution requires a trial judge to conduct a colloquy with a criminal defendant regarding the decision whether to testify, and whether any constitutional error in finding such waiver was made intelligently constitutes structural error

Docket Entries

2026-02-23
Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due April 2, 2026)

Attorneys

Guadalupe Pelayo
Robert James TrebilcockThe Office of the Yuma County Public Defender, Petitioner