State of Louisiana v. Robert Leroy McCoy

HUGHES, J.

|, This is a direct appeal under LSA-Const. Art. Y, § 5(D) 1 by the defendant, Robert LeRoy McCoy. The defendant was indicted by a Caddo Parish grand jury, on May 29, 2008, on three counts of first degree murder, for the murders of Willie Ray Young, Christine Colston Young, and Gregory Lee Colston, in violation of LSÁ-R.S. 14:30. After a trial, the jury found the defendant guilty as charged on all three counts. At the conclusion of the penalty phase of thé trial, the jury unanimously returned a verdict of death on all three counts, finding the aggravating- circumstance that the defendant knowingly created a risk of death or great bodily harm to more than one person. The trial court sentenced the defendant to death, in accordance with the jury’s determination. The defendant now appeals his convictions and sentences, raising sixteen assignments of error. After a thorough review of the law and the evidence, we find no merit in any of the assignments of |gerror. Therefore, we affirm the defendant’s convictions and sentences.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Christine Colston Young and her husband, Willie Ray Young, were shot and killed at their home at 19 Grace Lane in Bossier City, Louisiana, on May 5, 2008; Christine’s grandson, Gregory Lee Col-ston, was also shot and later died. Gregory had recently come to live with his grandparents so that he could finish his senior year at a local high school, after his mother, Yolanda Colston, had separated from the defendant earlier in the Spriiig of 2008 and following an incident of domestic abuse battery in April 2008. 2 On advice of law enforcement, Yolanda and her infant daughter had gone into protective custody out-of-state, and a warrant was issued, on April 16, 2008, for the defendant’s arrest for aggravated battery, by Detective Kevin Humphrey. In April and May, the defendant had evaded arrest under the warrant by failing to show up for work at his place of employment. The defendant had also traveled to Oakland, California; where his half-brother resided, but his cell phone records indicated that he returned to Bossier City on or about May 4, 2008, as calls were initiated from the defendant’s cell phone in Bossier and Caddo Parishes on the day of, and the day after, the murders.

On the night of May 5, 2008 a 911 call was placed from 19 Grace Lane, in which *542 Christine Colston Young could be heard screaming, “She ain’t here, Robert ... I don’t know where she is. The detectives have her. Talk to the detectives. She ain’t in there, Robert.” A gunshot was then heard on the 911 tape and the call was disconnected.

The Bossier City Police Department (“BCPD”) broadcast that a disengaged 911 call came from 19 Grace Lane, which was heard by Detective Humphrey, who immediately recognized the address as the residence of Yolanda Colston’s parents. laHowever, Detective Humphrey was working a security detail at a local store, and so he notified the first responders, via police radio, that he had an arrest warrant for Robert McCoy, whose estranged wife’s mother resided at 19 Grace Lane. Detective Humphrey cautioned the first responders to be on the lookout for a white four-door Kia, which he believed was driven by Robert McCoy.

Officer Kary Szyska responded that he was in the vicinity, approaching 19 Grace Lane, and that he saw a white Kia fleeing from the scene, which was recorded on the officer’s dashboard video camera. Officer Szyska made a U-turn and gave chase. On a dead-end street within a few blocks of the victims’ home, the video showed a black male matching the defendant’s general physical description jump out of the driver’s side of the Kia, scale a nearby fence, and run across 1-20.

Meanwhile, Detective Humphrey called the victims’ home and, receiving no answer, he drove there, arriving with other officers to find the front door ajar. Upon entering, the officers discovered fifty-five-year-old Christine Colston Young and fifty-year-old Willie Young, who was a cousin of the defendant, dead at the scene. Seventeen-year-old Gregory Colston was found gravely injured, but alive, and he was transported to the hospital, where he died a short time later. All three victims suffered a single gunshot wound to the head, fired from close range.

Since the abandoned Kia had a temporary license plate, the police ran the VIN (vehicle identification number) and found that it was registered to Robert and Yolanda McCoy. The police impounded the vehicle and searched the interior. There was a white cordless (landline) telephone on the driver’s seat, and the charger/cradle for the cordless handset was found inside the victims’ residence. The serial and model numbers on the handset found in the defendant’s Kia matched that on charger/cradle found in the victims’ home, confirming that the phone used by Christine Colston Young to call 911 was the phone found in the Ldefendant’s abandoned vehicle immediately after the murders.

Also found in the center console of the abandoned Kia was a Walmart bag with a box of .380 caliber ammunition. Inside the Walmart bag was a cash receipt from earlier that same day (at 16:55, or 4:55 p.m., on May 5, 2008), for the purchase of the ammunition. The police obtained video surveillance footage from Walmart, generated at the time of the purchase on the receipt, which showed an individual matching the defendant’s physical description pm-chasing ammunition while wearing a black “do-rag” on this head. 3

A manhunt began for the defendant involving the BCPD, the U.S. Marshall’s Office, and the FBI. The police began with *543 the defendant’s cell phone records. 4 They noticed he had been repeatedly calling a number in Oakland, California. Detective Humphrey testified that the last ping on the cell phone being used by the defendant occurred in Port Smith, Arkansas, and then the phone went dead. At that point, the police subpoenaed the phone records for the Oakland number the defendant had been calling, and as soon as the defendant’s phone was no longer being used, an Arkansas cell phone began calling the Oakland number. The police called the Arkansas cell phone number and a truck driver answered. 5 The police asked the truck driver if a black male named Robert was riding in the eighteen-wheeler with him. The driver replied, “[H]e was, but he’s not now,” | ¿relating that Robert had gotten into another eighteen-wheeler, which had been directly behind him at a weigh station in Spokane, Washington. The Arkansas truck driver told the police that he had picked Robert up in East Texas, 6 and Robert had borrowed his cell phone to make some calls after the battery went dead on his phone. The Arkansas truck driver disclosed that he and the second truck driver, with whom the defendant thereafter hitched a ride, had been issued tickets at the Spokane weigh station. The police contacted the weigh station and learned that the truck the defendant was traveling in was a Swift Transportation eighteen-wheeler. The police contacted Swift Transportation and learned that the eighteen-wheeler in which the defendant was traveling was bound for Oakland, California. Through GPS tracking, they located the Swift truck in Lewiston, Idaho, where it was making a warehouse pick-up.

The BCPD communicated to the Lewi-ston Police Department (“LPD”) that a murder suspect was a passenger in a Swift eighteen-wheeler in their jurisdiction and gave the location. On May 9, 2008 the LPD stopped the eighteen-wheeler in Lewiston, Idaho, and they arrested the defendant. 7 The defendant and the truck driver were the only occupants of the eighteen-wheeler, and the driver was not suspected of, or charged with, any crimes. The police searched the eighteen-wheeler, and found *544 a loaded, silver handgun on the floorboard behind the passenger seat where the defendant had been seated. The weapon was not in aJjjholster or bag, and the safety was not on. 8 The truck driver denied having a gun or any knowledge of a gun being in his truck. The LPD also seized from the defendant a cell phone and his wallet, which contained a pay stub, a birth certificate, a social security card, identification cards, insurance cards, and credit cards, all in the name of Robert McCoy, though the defendant had given the name of “Vance McCoy.”

On May 12, 2008, while awaiting extradition to Louisiana, the defendant unsuccessfully tried to hang himself with a bed sheet. The defendant was returned to Louisiana on May 14, 2008.

On May 15, 2008 the defendant appeared, by video, at a 72-hour hearing, and the court appointed the Indigent Defender Board to represent him. On May 29, 2008 a Bossier Parish grand jury indicted the defendant for the May 5, 2008 first degree murders of Christine Colston Young, Willie Ray Young, and Gregory Lee Colston, alleging in each instance a violation of LSA-R.S. 14:30(A)(3) (murder when “the offender has a specific intent to kill or to inflict great bodily harm upon more than one person”). On June 17, 2008 the defendant entered a plea of not guilty to the charges at the formal arraignment.

On July 1, 2008 the State gave its notice of intent to seek the death penalty against the defendant. Thereafter, the defense moved for the appointment of a sanity commission to evaluate the defendant’s mental capacity to understand the proceedings against him and to assist in his defense. The trial court ordered Dr. Richard Williams, a psychiatrist, and Dr. Mark Vigen, a clinical psychologist, to examine the defendant, which they did and by agreement submitted their findings |7by report to the court. At a hearing held on November 14, 2008 the trial court noted that both experts found the defendant competent to stand trial. 9

Thereafter, both the State and the defense filed motions for discovery and inspection, and the defendant filed a variety of pro se motions into the record, including subpoena requests for a number of witnesses. 10 The State filed motions to quash the defendant’s pro se subpoena requests, asserting that the testimony of the individ *545 uals, sought by the defendant to be subpoenaed, had no evidentiary value or relevance to contribute to the case and that the defendant’s actions were “meant to harass and unduly delay this matter.”

On December 6, 2009 the defendant wrote to the trial court advising that a conflict of interest had arisen between him and the public defender’s office, and he sought to represent himself until additional counsel could be retained and enrolled. 11 On January 12, 2010 the trial court held a hearing, initially slated to address the motion to quash subpoenas, but after the defendant announced to the court that he had a conflict of interest with the public defender’s office and that his |sfamily would be hiring an attorney, the trial judge recessed the hearing until the counsel issue could be resolved.

On February 11, 2010 after the trial judge gave the defendant a full recitation of his rights under Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 , 86 S.Ct. 1602 , 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966), the defendant waived those rights and asserted his right to represent himself under Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806, 835 , 95 S.Ct. 2525, 2541 , 45 L.Ed.2d 562 (1975). After interrogating the defendant, the trial judge ascertained that the defendant merely sought to represent himself “until my [retained] counsel enrolls next month.” The defendant assured the judge that even if counsel did not enroll, he would still be prepared to-go to trial on the previously set date of May 24, 2010.

On March 1, 2010 Larry English filed a motion to enroll as counsel for the defendant, and Mr. English appeared in open court two days later to formally enroll. Mr. English admitted- to the court that he was not certified to try death penalty bases but that he had made calls to board certified lawyers in order to assemble a legal team to try the case. The trial judge informed the defendant that his new attorney was not certified in death penalty eases,, and the defendant acknowledged that he understood that and. still wished to go forward with Mr. English as his attorney. Then Mr. English filed a motion to continue the trial, which the judge denied because the defendant had filed a pro se motion for speedy trial on January 13, 2010 and the case had already been set for trial at least once before. Thereafter, the trial judge relieved the public defender’s office from its representation of the defendant.

On April 16, 2010 Mr. English -took- -a writ to the Second Circuit on the trial court’s denial of his motion to continue. While that writ application was pending, the trial court held an additional hearing, on April 23, 2010, on the defendant’s.motion to continue, at which time-Mr. English reported that he was “having trouble 19.., putting together a legal team .to represent *546 Mr. McCoy because nobody wants to step into a capital murder ease that they’ve got to go- to trial on within such a short period .... I’m still not up to speed or nearly ready to undertake the representation of Mr. McCoy.” After the defendant and counsel assured the trial judge that they were withdrawing the defendant’s speedy trial motion, the judge reset the trial date to February 7, 2011, which he deemed “a hard ... date.” The trial judge also warned counsel: “Mr. English, I want you to understand that if I grant this continuance you will not be allowed to withdraw.” Subsequently, the Second Circuit noted that the trial court had granted the defendant’s motion to continue, and the writ was withdrawn. See State v. McCoy, 45,623 (La. App. 2 Cir. 5/20/10).

On March 12, 2010 the State filed its notice of intent to use evidence of other acts and/or crimes at trial, pursuant to LSA-C.Cr.P. art. 720 and LSA-C.E. art. 404(B). Specifically, the State’s notice covered “[a]U evidence from the criminal investigation of the incident that occurred on or about the 2nd day of April, 2008 concerning Yolanda Colston.” The defense responded by filing a motion in limine to exclude “any prior bad acts” of the defendant from trial. The parties argued the motions before the court on November 16, 2010, with the State urging that the issue of the defendant’s aggravated battery against Yolanda Colston constituted res gestae because “that’s what caused [the defendant] to come into contact with these victims on that particular night.” The trial judge agreed and granted the State’s motion to admit other crimes evidence. The defense counsel noticed his intent to seek writs, which were subsequently denied by the appellate court “on the showing made.” See State v. McCoy, 46,266 (La. App. 2 Cir. 1/6/11) (unpublished).

On December 14, 2010 Mr. English filed a motion requesting the trial court to declare the defendant indigent, for purposes of obtaining funds through the | inLouisiana Public Defender Board, so that the defense could hire a mitigation expert and investigator, a social worker, and a mental health expert, which was heard by the trial court on January 4, 2011. Mr. English disclosed to the court that mitigation experts were necessary should there be a guilty verdict in the case, but the defendant disagreed with that defense strategy. Mr. English further informed the court that the defendant had directed him not to proceed with the motion to declare him indigent, but Mr. English stated that to follow the defendant’s directive would not be in the defendant’s best interest, opining that his client was suffering from “severe mental and emotional issues that ha[ve] an impact upon this case.” Mr. English asked the trial court to “order that Mr. McCoy submit to the experts that are required in a capital murder case.”

In addition, numerous motions filed by the defendant, pro se, were addressed during the January 4, 2011 hearing, concerning which Mr. English stated: “I do not adopt those motions. I’ve asked [the defendant] not to file those motions .... I do not believe it’s in his best interest to do so .... [T]here may be some statements or documents in there that I believe ... may be detrimental to his case given the overwhelming ... evidence that is against him.” Mr. English also indicated that he was satisfied with the discovery response by the State, which he said had “provided us with all of the evidence in this case.” The district attorney confirmed that the State had given “open file” discovery to the defense. At the conclusion of the hearing, the defendant acquiesced in withdrawing his various pro se motions.

*547 Thereafter, the State realized that declaring the defendant indigent triggered Rules of the Supreme Court of Louisiana, Rule XXXI (“In any capital case in which a defendant is found to be indigent, the court shall appoint no less than two attorneys to represent the defendant ....”) and that since Mr. English’s enrollment | nthere had been only one attorney representing the defendant. 12 Accordingly, on January 24, 2011, the State filed a “Motion to Determine Waiver of Co-Counsel,” requesting a contradictory hearing “to determine defendant’s waiver of co-counsel at defendant’s capital murder trial.” On that same day, the trial court held a hearing on the motion, during which the district attorney stated that he filed the motion to “get Mr. English and/or Mr. McCoy’s position.” Mr. English advised the court that although another attorney, James Gray, had been advising him about the case, neither Mr. Gray nor any other attorney would be participating in the trial of the case, and he was comfortable trying the case single-handedly. 13 The trial judge questioned the defendant about the issue, and the defendant informed the court that, even though Mr. English was not capital certified, he waived the Rule XXXI two-attorney representation standard because he did not want to have the public defender’s office reappointed to his case. Also during the January 24, 2011 hearing, Mr. English orally requested a continuance of the February 7, 2011 trial date to further develop mitigation evidence. The trial court denied the defense motion to continue the trial date, and the defense thereafter filed an application for review with the appellate court.

Initially, the appellate court denied the writ application because the defense “failed to provide this Court with any documentation that the motion to continue was ever filed or ruled upon by the trial court.” State v. McCoy, 46,387 (La. App. 2 Cir. 2/1/11) (unpublished). However, on the following day, the appellate court issued a stay of the proceedings and, thereafter, issued a ruling granting the writ, lifting the stay, and remanding the case with instructions. State v. McCoy, 46,387 (La. App. 2 Cir. 2/2/11) (unpublished); State v. McCoy, 46,394 (La. App. 2 Cir. 2/3/11) (unpublished). In its ruling, the appellate court expressed concern that the defendant was proceeding to trial with only one defense attorney, who was not certified as qualified to defend capital cases. Id., 46,394 at p. 2. The appellate court granted the writ and remanded the case back to the trial court to grant the defendant a continuance of the trial date, 14 directing the trial court to also “ensure that Mr. McCoy is, or has been, fully apprised on the record of the benefits of having two capital-defense qualified attorneys and that McCoy has *548 knowingly and intelligently waived same.” Id., 46,394 at p. 3.

In response to the 'appellate court’s February 3, 2011 ruling, the State immediately filed a “Motion to Appoint Additional'Counsel,” and, on the same day, the trial court held a hearing on the motion to address the concerns voiced by the appellate court. In addition to the district attorney arid defense counsel of record; a representative from the local public defender’s office, Randall Fish, was present at the February 3, 2011 trial court hearing, during which the court and the parties discussed whether the defendant could continue to be represented by retained counsel and also be entitled to the appointment of two capital-qualified attorneys through the public defender’s office. The defendant unequivocally declined assistance from the public defender’s office, stating: “I don’t want the Court to put counsel on me ... that I don’t want.” The trial judge and the district attorney questioned1 the defendant as to- his waiver of counsel under Rule XXXI, and the defendant affirmed that he voluntarily waived the public defender’s office being appointed as co-counsel in his case. The defendant'stated that he was 113“totaIly opposed to that and most of all ... I choose not to be strong armed to take a public defender’s aspect of secondary counsel when that’s totally against my wishes.” Based on the defendant’s repeated assurances that he was knowingly and voluntarily waiving the appointment of additional counsel, the trial judge denied the State’s motion for appointment of a second trial counsel, and a trial date of July 28, 2011 was set.

On July 12, 2011 the trial court held a hearing to address the State’s motion for discovery, which requested written notice from the defendant of his intention to offer a defense of alibi, and the State’s motion to quash various subpoena requests issued by the defendant in proper person. As to the former, Mr. English informed the court that “[w]e have no alibi evidence in this case,” notwithstanding the defendant’s pro se notice of intent to offer an alibi. As to the defendant’s pro se subpoena requests, the State asserted they were not in proper form, and Mr. English replied, “I do not adopt any of the. subpoenas that Mr. McCoy has filed. He has done that against my advice.” The trial court did not quash the pro se subpoenas on that date, but reserved his decision until a later date.

■On July 26, 2011 two days before the trial was slated to begin, the court held a hearing in which Mr. English reported that he learned over the weekend of the defendant’s “intention to terminate my services.” After the trial judge fully advised the defendant of his rights under Miranda, the defendant disclosed that Mr. English would not be his lawyer going forward. The trial judge informed the defendant, "[Tjhat’s my determination at this point,” The defendant claimed that his parents had retained two new attorneys, although those attorneys were not in court at the July 26th hearing. The defendant asserted that Mr. English has been “trying to ... make me cop out to three counts of first degree murder. Didn’t want me to go to trial.” Mr. English informed the court that he and the defendant had an irrevocable disagreement as to the trial strategy. Relying on State v. Bridgewater, the trial judge denied the defendant’s motion to substitute counsel as untimely, given that the lawyers the defendant was seeking to enroll were not present in court that day and trial was slated to commence in two days. See State v. Bridgewater, 00-1529 (La. 1/15/02), 823 So.2d 877 , on rehearing, 00-1529 (La. 6/21/02), 823 So.2d 877, 909 , cert. denied, 537 U.S. 1227 , 123 S.Ct. 1266 , 154 L.Ed.2d 1089 (2003), Accordingly, the trial judge ordered Mr. En *549 glish to remain counsel of record.- Moments after the trial court’s ruling that the defendant’s request to discharge counsel was untimely, the defendant made a one-sentence invocation of his right to self-represent, which the court disposed of as untimely under State v. Bridgewater.

Voir dire commenced on July 28, 2011, and jury selection of twelve jurors and two alternate jurors was completed on August 2, 2011. Trial on the merits commenced on August 3, 2011, and the State gave its opening statement. Thereafter, Mr. English gave an opening statement in which he conceded guilt, stating, “I’m telling you Mr. McCoy committed these crimes,” but he asserted that the defendant was suffering “from serious emotional issues” that inhibit his ability “to function in society and to make rational decisions.” Accordingly, Mr. English urged the jury to consider this case in terms of a second degree murder trial.

The State presented its case through the testimony of eleven witnesses and 100 exhibits before resting its case-in-chief. On August 4, 2011 Mr. English announced to the court that, against the advice of counsel and warnings of a possible perjury indictment, the defendant had elected to testify. The trial judge advised the defendant of his rights under Miranda, and the defendant acknowledged that he understood those rights and wished to testify. Thereafter, the defendant testified to his alibi defense and sought to refute the State’s evidence liSwith his theories of a vast conspiracy that landed him on trial for his life. 15 The district attorney cross-examined the defendant, after which the de *550 fense rested its case. After deliberations on August 4, 2011, the jury returned a unanimous verdict of guilty as charged on all three counts.

The penalty phase was held on August 5, 2011. The State called five victim impact witnesses: (1) Yolanda Colston (mother of victim Gregory Colston, and daughter/step-daughter of victims Christine Col-ston Young and Willie Young); (2) Lorenzo Evans (friend of Gregory Colston); (3) Kent Falting (teacher and coach of Gregory Colston); (4) Eric Davis (son of Christine Colston Young); and (5) Pauline Miles (sister of Willie Young). Thereafter, the defense called one mitigation expert, Dr. Mark Vigen. 16 After deliberation, the jury returned a verdict | ^recommending the sentence of death on all three counts, finding that the State proved one of the three aggravating circumstances advanced, 17 namely that the offender knowingly created risk of death or great bodily harm to more than one person.

On December 6, 2011 attorneys from the Louisiana .Capital Assistance Center appeared before the trial court and filed a motion for new trial and a motion in arrest of judgment on the defendant’s behalf. Appellate counsel filed a supplemental motion for new trial on January 17, 2012. The trial court held a hearing on the defendant’s post-verdict motions on January 23, 2012, and at the conclusion, denied the motion for new trial. The defendant waived delays, and the trial court formally imposed the sentence of death in accordance with the jury’s verdict.

On August 8, 2012 appellate counsel filed a “Second Motion for New Trial.” The trial court subsequently ruled that the second motion for new trial was untimely filed. A writ application was denied by the appellate court “on the showing made.” State v. McCoy, 48,083 (La. App. 2 Cir. 1/17/13) (unpublished). This court also denied review. State v. McCoy, 13-0400 (La. 4/5/13), 110 So.3d 1067 .

The defendant now appeals his convictions and death sentences on the basis of sixteen assignments of error: (1) the defendant’s right to counsel of choice was violated when the trial court denied his request to discharge and substitute trial counsel prior to trial; (2) the trial court erred in denying the defendant’s right to self-representation; (3) the trial court erred in failing to conduct a hearing and grant the defendant’s request for substitution of counsel on his showing that trial counsel [17was incompetent or otherwise unable to furnish adequate representation; (4) the trial court erred in ruling that trial counsel, rather than the defendant, could decide whether to concede guilt of murder; (5) the defendant’s right to counsel was denied when he was involuntarily represented by trial counsel who conceded his guilt against his express instructions and entirely failed to adversarially test the State’s ease; (6) the defendant’s right to conflict-free counsel was violated when his trial counsel actively represented interests contrary to the expressed interests and objectives of the defendant; (7) the defendant’s rights to compulsory process, to an *551 impartial jury trial, to plead not guilty, to present a defense, to confront witnesses, to require the State to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and to a fair trial were violated when trial counsel advocated his guilt of second degree murder; (8) the trial court erred in failing to appoint certified indigent counsel; (9) the trial court erred in denying the defendant’s motion to suppress the statement of Gayle Houston as untimely; (10) the State exercised peremptory challenges based on the race of prospective jurors in violation of state and federal equal protection clauses and LSA-C.Cr.P. art. 795; (11) the trial court erred in failing to give a “lesser-included offense” instruction; (12) the trial court erred in permitting “untested, unnoticed, unadjudicated act evidence” at the penalty phase, in violation of State v. Jackson, 608 So.2d 949 (La. 1992), the Eighth Amendment, and due process; (13) the trial court erred in admitting victim impact evidence from the basketball coach of one of the victims; (14) the trial court committed prejudicial error in refusing to allow the defendant to voluntarily excuse himself from being present at trial; (15) the trial court erred in dismissing the defendant’s “Second Motion for New Trial,” without reaching any of the merits, pursuant to an incorrect application of LSA-C.Cr.P. art. 853(B); and (16) the trial court erred in failing to hold a renewed competency hearing in violation of LSA-C.Cr.P. art. 643 and procedural due process. The defendant has urged no challenge to the sufficiency |1sof the evidence used to convict him of three counts of first degree murder.

LAW AND ANALYSIS

Right to Counsel of Choice

In his first assignment of error, the defendant contends that the trial court erred in denying his pretrial motion to discharge Mr. English as his trial counsel and to substitute another attorney as defense counsel, as the defendant contends a conflict arose between the defendant and Mr. English concerning the manner of trial defense to be presented.

The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides that “[i]n all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall ... have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.” An accused’s right to counsel is echoed in Louisiana Constitution, Article I, Section 13, which states that “[a]t each stage of the proceedings, every person is entitled to assistance of counsel of his choice, or appointed by the court if he is indigent and charged with an offense punishable by imprisonment.” See also LSA-C.Cr.P. art. 511 (“The accused in every instance has the right to defend himself and to have the assistance of counsel. His counsel shall have free access to him, in private, at reasonable hours.”).

The Supreme Court has recognized the efficacy of having the assistance of counsel during the adversarial procedure of a criminal trial. Wheat v. United States, 486 U.S. 153, 158-59 , 108 S.Ct. 1692, 1697 , 100 L.Ed.2d 140 (1988) (“[T]he Sixth Amendment secures the right to the assistance of counsel, by appointment if necessary, in a trial for any serious crime.”) (citing Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335, 343-44 , 83 S.Ct. 792, 796 , 9 L.Ed.2d 799 (1963)). Although “the essential aim of the Amendment is to guarantee an effective advocate for each criminal defendant,” the Sixth Amendment also encompasses “the right to select and be represented by one’s preferred attorney.” Wheat v. United States, 486 U.S. at 159 , 108 S.Ct. at 1697 .

| i9The denial of a criminal defendant’s right to retained counsel of choice is a violation of the Sixth Amendment and a structural error, requiring reversal. Unit *552 ed States v. Gonzalez-Lopez, 548 U.S. 140, 148-50 , 126 S.Ct. 2557, 2564 , 165 L.Ed.2d 409 (2006). When the right to be assisted by counsel of one’s choice is wrongly denied, no harmless error analysis inquiring into counsel’s effectiveness or prejudice to the defendant is required:

Deprivation of the right is “complete” when the defendant is erroneously prevented from being represented by the lawyer he wants, regardless of the quality of the representation he received. To argue otherwise is to confuse the right to counsel of choice—which is the right to a particular lawyer regardless of comparative effectiveness—with the right to effective counsel—which imposes a baseline requirement of competence on whatever lawyer is chosen or appointed.

Gonzalez-Lopez, 548 U.S. at 148 , 126 S.Ct. at 2563 .

The assistance of counsel may be secured in various ways, including: the hiring of an attorney’s services by the criminal defendant or by another on behalf of the defendant, the attorney’s volunteering of services pro bono, or the court’s appointment of private counsel or the public defender if the defendant is indigent. 18 State v. Reeves, 06-2419, p. 35 (La. 5/5/09), 11 So.3d 1031, 1055 , cert. denied, 558 U.S. 1031 , 130 S.Ct. 637 , 175 L.Ed.2d 490 (2009). However, in order to exercise the right to choose a particular attorney, a defendant must have the means to obtain and afford the services of said counsel, whereas an indigent defendant has a right to “appointed” counsel, but does not have the right to have a particular attorney appointed. State v. Sims, 07-2216, p. 1 (La. 11/16/07), 968 So.2d 721, 722 (“A defendant is guaranteed the right to counsel of choice so long as the defendant can obtain and afford the services of said counsel.”); State v. Jones, 97-2593, pp. 2-3 (La. 3/4/98), 707 So.2d 975, 976 ; State v. Rideau, 278 So.2d 100, 103 (La. 1973) (“An indigent defendant is not entitled to choose a certain lawyer.”). 19

The Sixth Amendment right to choose one’s own counsel is circumscribed in several important respects. Wheat v. United States, 486 U.S. at 159 , 108 S.Ct. at 1697 ; State v. Reeves, 06-2419 at pp. 35-36, 11 So.3d at 1055-56 . See also Caplin & Drysdale, Chartered v. United States, 491 U.S. 617, 624-26 , 109 S.Ct. 2646, 2652-53 , 105 L.Ed.2d 528 (1989). Regardless of his persuasive powers, an advocate who is not a member of the bar may not represent clients, other than himself, in court. Wheat v. United States, 486 U.S. at 159 , 108 S.Ct. at 1697 . Similarly, a defendant may not insist on representation by an attorney he cannot afford or who for other reasons declines to represent the defendant. Id. Nor may a defendant insist on the counsel of an attorney who has a previous or ongoing relationship with an opposing party, even when the opposing party is the government. Id.

The Supreme Court has stated unequivocally that a criminal defendant who has been appointed counsel has no right under *553 the Sixth Amendment to the counsel of his choice:

The Amendment guarantees defendants in criminal cases the right to adequate representation, but those who do not have the means to hire their own lawyers have no cognizable complaint so long as they are adequately represented by attorneys appointed by the courts. “[A] defendant may not insist on representation by an attorney he cannot afford.”

Caplin & Drysdale, 491 U.S. at 624 , 109 S.Ct. at 2652 (quoting Wheat, 486 U.S. at 159 , 108 S.Ct. at 1697 ). This distinction was again noted by the Supreme Court in United States v. Gonzalez-Lopez, 548 U.S. at 151 , 126 S.Ct. at 2565 , wherein | g1the Court held that “the right to counsel of choice does not extend to defendants who require counsel to be appointed for them.”

A defendant’s right to choose his counsel only extends so far as to allow the accused to retain the attorney of his choice if he can manage to do so, but that right is not absolute. State v. Harper, 381 So.2d 468, 470-71 (La. 1980); State v. Leggett, 363 So.2d 434, 436 (La. 1978); State v. Mackie, 352 So.2d 1297, 1300 (La. 1977). See also Caplin & Drysdale, 491 U.S. at 626 , 109 S.Ct. at 2652 (“Whatever the full extent of the Sixth Amendment’s protection of one’s right to retain counsel of his choosing, that protection does not go beyond ‘the individual’s right to spend his own money to obtain the advice and assistance of ... counsel,’ ”); State v. Brown, 03-0897, p. 11 (La. 4/12/05), 907 So.2d 1, 12 , decision clarified on rehearing, 03-0897 (La. 6/29/05), 907 So.2d 1, 36 , cert. denied, 547 U.S. 1022 , 126 S.Ct. 1569 , 164 L.Ed.2d 305 (2006) (“[A] criminal defendant’s right to the counsel of his choice is not absolute.”).

Furthermore, this . court - has consistently held that a defendant’s right to counsel of his choice cannot be manipulated to obstruct the orderly procedure of the courts and cannot be,used to interfere with the fair administration of justice. State v. Bridgewater, 00-1529 at p. 20, 823 So.2d at 896 ; State v. Seiss, 428, So.2d 444, 447 (La. 1983); State v. Champion, 412 So.2d 1048, 1050 (La. 1982). See also State v. Givens, 99-3518, pp. 9-10 (La. 1/17/01), 776 So.2d 443, 452 . The “[d]efen-dant must exercise his right to counsel of his choice at a reasonable s time, in a rea-, sonable manner[,] and- at an appropriate stage of the proceedings.”. State v. Seiss, 428 So.2d at 447. A trial court, therefore, does not abuse.its broad discretion to conduct proceedings “in an orderly and expeditious manner,” as mandated by LSA-C.Cr.P. art. 17, by denying a continuance on the morning of trial based on the defendant’s desire to change counsel. State v. Anthony, 347 So.2d 483, 487 (La. 1977) (“The law is well settled that, a defendant in a criminal 122trial caimot, by a last, minute change of counsel, force a postponement of his trial.”). .

The circumstances of State v. Seiss, supra, are analogous to the present case. In State v. Seiss, an indigent defender was appointed to represent the defendant, and on the day of trial the defense counsel presented a motion to withdraw so that the defendant could substitute another defense counsel. The indigent defender explained to the court why he-should be.allowed to withdraw from representation of the defendant:

Yesterday I. talked with Mr. Seissand he emphatically informed me that- he had no desire at all for me to represent him. It is my position that the. fiduciary relationship of attorney/client is., too valuable for me-to be forced to represent a client who has no confidence in my abilities, nor is he, willing to co *554 operate with me in any manner for me to represent him. Given that lack of rapport between us ... I don’t see how the amount of exposure that he has in this matter that I should be forced to represent him and I do not think that the administration of criminal justice in Rapides Parish would be so unduly burdened by allowing him, now that his indigency status has altered, he is employed and he is financially able to hire an attorney of his own choosing why he could not be allowed to so do and that’s basically my position.

State v. Seiss, 428 So.2d at 446. The defendant also informed the court of his reason for seeking to replace appointed counsel with retained counsel: “Like he said, you know, he was appointed to me as a State lawyer and now ... I [am] employed and I’d like to get a lawyer of my choice.” Id. Although the defendant claimed to have hired a replacement attorney, that attorney had not enrolled as counsel for the defendant and was not present on the day of trial; the trial court denied the motion to withdraw. Id. In ruling that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying defense counsel’s motion to withdraw, this court stated:

This court has consistently held that this right cannot be manipulated to obstruct the orderly procedure of the courts and cannot be used to interfere with the fair administration of justice. State v. Champion, 412 So.2d 1048, 1050 (La. 1982); State v. Johnson, 389 So.2d 1302, 1304 (La. 1980); State v. Jones, 376 So.2d 125, 129 (La. 1979); State v. Lee, 364 So.2d 1024, 1028 (La. 1978); State v. Anthony, 347 So.2d 483, 487 (La. 1977). Defendant must exercise laahis right to counsel of his choice at a reasonable time, in a reasonable manner and at an appropriate stage of the proceedings. State v. Champion, supra at 1050 ; State v. Johnson, supra at 1304 ; State v. Lee, supra at 1028 ; State v. Leggett, 363 So.2d 434, 436 (La. 1978); State v. Cousin, 307 So.2d 326, 328 (La. 1975). Absent a justifiable basis, “[tjhere is no constitutional right to make a new choice of counsel on the very date the trial is to begin, with the attendant necessity of a continuance and its disrupting implications.” State v. Leggett, supra at 436 . Once the trial date has arrived, the question of withdrawal of counsel largely rests with the discretion of the trial court, and his ruling will not be disturbed in the absence of a clear showing of abuse of discretion. State v. Leggett, supra at 436 ; State v. Cousin, supra at 328 ; State v. Boudoin, 257 La. 583, 588-89 , 243 So.2d 265, 267 (1971).

State v. Seiss, 428 So.2d at 447. Likewise, in both State v. Lee, 364 So.2d at 1028 , and State v. Anthony, 347 So.2d at 487 , this court found no error in the trial court’s denial of a motion to withdraw, on the defendant’s claim that another retained counsel would be substituted, when the attorney to be substituted neither enrolled as counsel nor appeared in court on the day the motion was heard.

During the instant prosecution, the defendant was first represented by appointed counsel, then represented himself for approximately one month (as discussed hereinafter), and thereafter counsel was retained by the defendant’s family.

On May 15, 2008 at the defendant’s initial appearance before the court, he was referred to the public defender’s office, and on June 17, 2008, when he was arraigned, the defendant was represented by the public defender’s office. However, the defendant’s relationship with his appointed counsel soured when the defendant felt that no investigation was being done on his claims of innocence. In February of 2010 *555 the defendant declared that he would represent himself, but he qualified that he would be doing so only “until my [retained] counsel enrolls next month,” but assured the court that whether new counsel enrolled or not he would still be prepared for previously-set trial date of May 24, 2010.

On March 1, 2010 retained counsel Larry English enrolled as defense ^counsel and informed the court that while the defendant’s family “approached me ... about retaining my services ... I’m basically handling this case pro bono.” 20 On January 4, 2011, on motion of Mr. English, the trial court declared the defendant indigent, so that he could apply for state funding to hire mitigation experts. Nevertheless, Mr. English proceeded as either retained or pro bono counsel.

When Mr. English enrolled as defense counsel on March 1, 2010, he assured the trial court that he had begun to assemble a “legal team ... to try this case” since he was not a certified capital counsel, but he sought a continuance of the May 24, 2010 trial date. In denying the motion for continuance, the trial court extensively detailed the delays that had already been encountered in bringing the case to trial, which had been originally set for June 1, 2009, noting the fact that the defendant had previously filed a pro se motion for speedy trial on January 13, 2010. However, an application for writs was filed with the appellate court, and subsequently the trial court agreed to continue the May 2010 trial date to February 7, 2011, on the defendant’s agreement to withdraw his motion for speedy trial and on Mr. English’s assurance that he would not thereafter withdraw as defense counsel.

At a hearing held before the trial court on July 26, 2011, two days before the commencement of the defendant’s capital trial, Mr. English stated to the court that |2Bhe had learned over the weekend that the defendant wanted to terminate him as defense counsel. The defendant confirmed this statement, telling the trial court that Mr. English would not be continuing as his attorney. The trial court informed the defendant, “[T]hat’s my determination at this point.” The defendant then stated that Mr. English had been paid a fee, implying that he had the right to terminate Mr. English as his counsel. The defendant expressed frustration as to Mr. English’s refusal to adopt his alibi defense and to the fact that Mr. English was “trying to make [him] cop to all three counts of murder,” indicating these factors had caused a breakdown in the attorney-client relationship. The defendant also claimed to have two new defense attorneys “on standby” ready to enroll “as soon as Mr. English is taken out of my case,” and the defendant assured the trial judge that these two new attorneys were “ready to proceed [to] trial,” scheduled to *556 begin two days later, and that there would “be- no ... delays.” However, when the trial. court asked the defendant if these replacement attorneys were present in the courtroom, the defendant replied “no.” The defendant was further unable to tell the trial court the names of his new defense attorneys, but argued to the court that he was credible about the fact that new counsel would enroll as he stated. 21 The trial court then denied the defendant’s request to' discharge Mr. English and substitute counsel, stating:

[I]n anticipation of this motion and in looking up the law in this' motion, I’ve looked at State of Louisiana versus Roy Bridgewater that is cited at 823 So.2d 877 .... Mr. McCoy, there have been ' times' that [ 2(i.you have been represented by the Public Defender’s Office. There was a time that you had attempted to represent ... yourself .... [Y]ou have been represented by Mr. English. And the case stands for the right—you do have the right to choose counsel but that ■counsel cannot be chosen when it is an attempt to obstruct the Court’s orderly procedure or to interfere with a fair administration of justice. And it states that ... “In order for‘the defendant to exercise his right to- counsel he must exercise his right to counsel of his choice at a reasonable time, in a reasonable manner, and at an appropriate stage of the proceedings.” This matter has been set since February. This matter has been under a scheduling order at least . two different times. The case was continued by the Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeal in February and was continued to this term, which I specifically set aside in order to be able to have this hearing. We are two days before the hearing date .... [T]hese two attorneys that you state are going to represent you are not in this courtroom at this time. They have not come before this Court and asked to enroll in this case. Even if they were to enroll there would have to be assurances that they were prepared to go to trial on Thursday. So based on the fact that this is not a timely request and this Court also takes into consideration that even if there are irreconcilable differences between counsel and the person that is accused of a crime that the [Bridgewa-ter] Court said that ... “A right to counsel choice must be made in a timely manner. It must be the choice at a reasonable time, and a reasonable manner, and at an appropriate stage of the proceedings.” This is not an appropriate stage of the proceedings. There is no counsel that is present today to state that they would enroll. And therefore, I deny Mr. English being relieved at this time and he will remain as counsel of record and this case will go to trial on Thursday.

Having carefully examined the trial court record in this matter, we are unable •to say the trial court erred in its finding that the defendant’s motion' to substitute counsel was untimely and constituted an *557 attempt “to obstruct the Court’s orderly procedure or to interfere with a fair administration of justice.” Although the defendant asserts that he was unaware of Mr. English’s alleged refusal to pursue his claims of innocence as a defense and therefore unable at an earlier point in the proceedings to bring the alleged irreconcilable differences to the attention of the trial court and to seek a substitution of counsel, the record reflects that differences in the defendant’s expectations for his defense and Mr. English’s trial strategy were evident to the court and the parties as early as a December 14, 2010 hearing before the court, wherein the defendant and Mr. English discussed their ^disagreements before the trial court.

During the December 14, 2010 hearing (held on motion of Mr. English to have the defendant declared indigent so that public funds could be made available to hire mitigation experts), the trial court was informed that the defendant did not want to be declared indigent and did not want to hire 'mitigation experts since he wanted to put on a defense based entirely on his claim of innocence. During the hearing, Mr, English made several statements to the trial court, in the presence of the defendant, that the defendant was suffering from “severe mental and emotional issues,” and yet the defendant did not seek to replace Mr. English as his defense counsel at that time. • " ■

Subsequently, during a January 4, 2011 hearing (held oh issues related to pro se discovery motions filed independently by the defendant), it was revealed that Mr. English did not support the defendant’s pro se discovery requests seeking to develop certain evidence and witnesses related to his claims of innocence and the existence of an alibi. At the conclusion of the hearing, the defendant acquiesced in withdrawing his various pro se motions, and he made no objection to Mr. English’s continued representation.

Then, at a January 24, 2011 hearing, provoked by the district attorney in light of Louisiana Supreme Court Rule XXXI (“In any capital case in which a defendant is found to be indigent, the court shall appoint no less than two attorneys to represent the defendant ,...”) to “get Mr. English and/or Mr. McCoy’s position” on the rule since Mr. English was not certified as a capital defense qualified counsel and there was no second defense counsel enrolled on the defendant’s behalf, the trial judge questioned the defendant about the issue, and the defendant informed the court that, even though Mr. English was not capital certified, he waived any Rule XXXI entitlement to representation by two attorneys because he did not want to have the public defender’s office reappointed to his | asease. Mr. English also divulged to the court, during that hearing, the difficulties he was having representing the defendant because of his “severe mental issues,” stating, “Mr. McCoy is going to attempt to take over this trial and argue in front of the jury.” Mr. English further stated, “It’s going to be a zoo, Judge, because I’m not going to do what he wants me to do ... I do not believe this man is rational ...' I have an ethical duty to this man not to follow his bizarre behavior.” In response, the defendant advised the trial court that Mr, English “won’t subpoena people that will validate my innocence,” expounding at length on that assertion. The defendant further revealed to the trial court his awareness of Mr. English’s planned trial strategy when he stated: “Mr. English has told me there is no way he can win this case.” Notwithstanding, the defendant did not seek to have Mr. English substituted with other defense counsel.

*558 Further, as noted hereinabove, following an order by the appellate court in State v. McCoy, 46,394 (La. App. 2 Cir. 2/8/11) (unpublished), the trial court held a February 3, 2011 hearing, to revisit the defendant’s refusal to allow appointment of a second defense attorney from the public defender’s office to satisfy this court’s Rule XXXI of “no less than two attorneys” to represent an indigent defendant, the defendant chose to continue to be represented only by Mr. English, stating, “I choose not to be strong armed to take a public defender’s aspect of secondary counsel when that’s totally against my wishes.” It was at this hearing that the trial date of July 28,2011 was set.

Even though the defendant claims he had no knowledge that Mr. English was going to concede his guilt until July 12, 2011, argument presented by newly-enrolled appellate .counsel alluded, during a January 23, 2012 post-trial hearing on a motion for new trial, that the issue had been under discussion for at least a few months before trial, in stating:

Mr. English formed the view relatively early on that the evidence | ^against Mr. McCoy was overwhelming and that the ... only successful outcome in the case, in Mr. English’s view, was to try to persuade the jury to return a life sentence rather than the death sentence and that the best way to do that strategically was to concede Mr. McCoy’s guilt of the killings, being the killer of the three victims in this case .... A couple of months before the trial, Mr. English approached Mr. McCoy to put in fairly bold terms that he believed that Mr. McCoy needed to take a plea of guilty to a life sentence if he could get one rather than to proceed to trial.

The record clearly reveals the defendant’s awareness of Mr. English’s trial strategy, to avoid the death penalty by conceding guilt and seeking a life sentence, some eight months prior to July 12, 2011. 22 Thus, the trial judge did not abuse his discretion by denying the motion to discharge and replace retained counsel two days before trial. This assignment of error is without merit.

Right to Self-Representation

In his second assignment of error, the defendant contends he was denied his right to self-representation, when, after the trial court denied his motion to substitute another trial counsel for My. English during a July 26, 2011 hearing on the matter held two days before trial, the defendant attempted to invoke his right of self-representation.

When an accused manages his own defense, he relinquishes, as a purely factual matter, many of the traditional benefits associated with the right to counsel; for this reason, in order to represent himself, the accused must “knowingly and intelligently” forgo those relinquished benefits. Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. at 835 , 95 S.Ct. at 2541 . Although a defendant need not himself have the skill and experience of a lawyer in order competently and intelligently to choose self-representation, he should be made aware of the dangers and disadvantages of selfjrepresentation80, so that the record will establish that he knows what he is doing and his choice is made “with eyes open.” Id. Thus, when a *559 defendant asserts this right of self-representation, a trial judge must make two independent decisions: (1) whether defendant’s waiver of his right to be represented by counsel is intelligently and voluntarily made, and (2) whether his assertion of his right to represent himself is clear and unequivocal. State v. Hegwood, 345 So.2d 1179, 1181-82 (La. 1977). A trial judge confronted with an accused’s unequivocal request to represent himself need determine only whether the accused is competent to waive counsel and is “voluntarily exercising his informed free will.” State v. Santos, 99-1897, p. 3 (La. 9/15/00), 770 So.2d 319, 321 (per curiam). 23

Whether the defendant has knowingly, intelligently, and unequivocally asserted the right to self-representation must be determined based on the facts and circumstances of each case. State v. Bridgewater, 00-1529 at p.18, 823 So.2d at 894 (“[CJourts should ‘indulge in every reasonable presumption against waiver.’ ”) (quoting 3 Wayne R. LaPave, Jerold H. Israel & Nancy J. King, Criminal Procedure § 11.3(a) (2nd ed. 1999)).

Furthermore, the right to self-representation is not absolute. Martinez v. Court of Appeal of California, 528 U.S. 152, 161 , 120 S.Ct. 684, 691 , 145 L.Ed.2d 597 (2000). Most courts require the defendant to elect to represent himself in a timely manner. Id., 528 U.S. 152, 161-62 , 120 S.Ct. 684, 691 . A defendant who waits until trial to ask the court to excuse his appointed attorney in order to search for retained counsel, after having acquiesced in representation by an attorney throughout pretrial procedures, has waited so long that a trial judge’s |31 action in denying such a delaying tactic is justified. State v. Hegwood, 345 So.2d at 1182 ; State v. Austin, 258 La. 273, 278-79 , 246 So.2d 12, 13-14 (1971).

In the case at bar, on July 26, 2011, the defendant sought to discharge and replace Mr. English as defense counsel, but the motion was denied by the trial court. Immediately after the trial court informed the parties that Mr. English would be continuing as counsel and that the trial would commence in two days, the defendant stated:

MR. MCCOY: Through Ache [sic] versus Oklahoma [24] Your Honor, I have the right to speak, I have a right to represent myself through Ache [sic] versus Oklahoma, Your Honor, and too— THE COURT: Not at this time, Mr. McCoy, the State versus Bridgewater [case] states that you have unequivocally given up that right because ... you have not made that known to the Court unequivocally before this date. So I will instruct you to speak through Mr. English at this time and ... Mr. English is your attorney and he will be representing you ....

Given the circumstances and prior procedural history of this case, the defendant’s one-sentence statement was not perceived by the trial court as a “clear and *560 unequivocal” assertion of his right to self-represent. Coming as it did moments after the trial court’s ruling that the defendant could not discharge and replace Mr. English as his defense counsel, since the defendant’s request to do so came just two days before trial, it was not urged “in a timely manner.” The trial judge refused to entertain the defendant’s late mention of self-representation, stating, “Not at this time.”

Notably, the trial judge had previously allowed the defendant to represent himself, in February of 2010, and the defendant did so for one month before Mr. English enrolled as counsel. In contrast with the one-line assertion the defendant invoked on July 26, 2011, after which his request was denied, he made an unequivocal invocation of his right to represent himself on February 11, 2010, |32when he sought to substitute his self-representation for the representation of the public defender’s office, stating:

MR. MCCOY: Your Honor, I would like to present to the Court today under Ferret [Faretta] versus Carroll—California.] [25] I’ve also presented to the Public Defender’s Office a valid—requested document for respective counsel to assist me through the proceeding that I’m going through and not to collate themselves within my attorney aspects. But I ask them to assist me through it because I am a competent defendant, and I am literate, and I’m up under Ferret [Faretta] versus California. Yon know, I am eligible for—to represent myself and not being able to represent myself when I’m eligible is a violation of my Sixth and Fourteenth Amendment right. I’ve given the Public Defender’s Office a year and a half of opportunities to represent me and they did not represent me. And being competent, and being an understanding defendant, I have the right up under the United States Constitution to represent myself and not to be forced to have representation on me ....

After this February 11, 2010 assertion of his right to self-representation, the trial judge advised the defendant of his Miranda rights and questioned him under Faretta as to his capacity to represent himself in a capital murder trial. During that colloquy, the defendant told the judge that he understood he was facing a possible death penalty, that he graduated from Rice University with a degree in Business Administration, 26 that he understood he was entitled to a trial by jury during which the State would have to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt, and that he was entitled to an attorney. At that point, the defendant volunteered that “I’m going to have [an attorney] next month ... I have paid counsel.” The trial judge completed his Faretta questioning and after satisfying himself that the defendant was exercising a knowing and voluntary choice with “eyes open,” 27 the trial judge continued:

laaTHE COURT: All right, first of all you’re asking to represent yourself. I believe that you have the education if *561 that is what you want to do but I am strongly and I mean very strongly encouraging you not to represent yourself in this matter, sir ,.. because of the complexities of the law in this matter and the evidence regarding this matter ...", And you understand that you’ll be held to the same rules [or] standards as an attorney if you represent yourself? MR. MCCOY: Yes, sir, I do. And I know this is a complex situation, Your Honor, but this is my life and ... I know the steps that I’m taking. I know the, you know, the advantages and disadvantages but I choose to proceed forward because this is for my best interest.

On February 11, 2010, based on the defendant’s assurances that no one was forcing him to waive counsel, that he understood the penalties he was facing, and that he would be held to the same courtroom decorum and standards as an attorney, the trial judge ruled that the defendant could proceed pro se, noting specifically that in the event that his anticipated retained counsel did not sign on as expected, the defendant would proceed to trial representing himself on the then-scheduled trial date of May 24, 2010. The trial judge also appointed Randall Fish of the public defender’s office to assist the defendant in any matters of law at that time.

A comparison of the colloquies that took place on February 11, 2010 and July 26, 2011 demonstrates that the July 2011 one-sentence assertion was not the definitive expression of the right to waive counsel and exercise the right to self-representation that the defendant had asserted;before the trial court on February 10, 2010, and the trial judge was no doubt able to compare those two events when he dismissed the July 2011 one-sentence assertion. 28 After the trial court declined’the | ^defendant’s July 26, 2011 assertion (“I have a right to represent myself through Ache [sic] versus Oklahoma”), two days before trial, the defendant presented no further assertion of ¿ right to self-representation in lieu of retained counsel, nor did he enter a contemporaneous objection. The trial court, based on the facts and circumstances surrounding the defendant’s July 26, 2011 statement, determined that any motion of self-representation was untimely and, as stated in' Bridgewater, the “defendant’s request to represent himself was not an unequivocal one; rather, it was an obfuscated request to substitute appointed counsel because of his disagreement with current counsel’s choice of trial strategy.” State v. Bridgewater, 00-1529 at p. 19, 823 So.2d at 895 . We find nb abuse of discretion in any denial by the trial court of self-representation on July 26, 2011.

*562 Right to Hearing on Motion to Withdraw

In the defendant’s third assignment of error, he contends that the trial court is required to appoint substitute counsel when the defendant makes a showing that appointed counsel is incompetent or unable for some cause to furnish adequate representation and that he made a clear showing that Mr. English was unable to furnish adequate representation, such that the trial court erred in failing to hold a hearing on the issue. The defendant argues that the trial judge had notice that the defendant’s right to effective assistance of counsel was being jeopardized by the strategic differences in how to defend this case, which lead to irreconcilable differences between attorney and client.

The defendant cites State v. Draughn, 05-1825 (La. 1/17/07), 950 So.2d 583 , cert. denied, 552 U.S. 1012 , 128 S.Ct. 537 , 169 L.Ed.2d 377 (2007), in which the capital defendant specifically did not raise a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel under the standard of Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 , 104 S.Ct. 2052 , 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984), but rather, challenged the trial court’s failure to hold |3Ba hearing or otherwise address the defendant’s pretrial allegations about counsel, stating, “In brief, the defendant states: ‘Mr. Draughn is not here asserting a claim, of ineffective assistance of counsel, but, rather, is challenging the trial court’s failure to hold a hearing or otherwise address his pre-trial allegations.’” State v. Draughn, 05-1825 at pp. 18-19, 950 So.2d at 599 . Likewise, the instant defendant’s brief to this court states that the “[defendant is not now advancing a claim under Strickland.” (Emphasis original.) The defendant further states, “[T]he summary denial of the defendant’s requests and complaints without adequate investigation into Mr. McCoy’s entirely legitimate grievances requires reversal.”

On the similar claims urged in State v. Draughn, this court cited LSA-C.Cr.P. art. 921 (“A judgment or ruling shall not be reversed by an appellate court because of any error, defect, irregularity, or variance which does not affect substantial rights of the accused.”), and held:

Assuming, without deciding, that the trial court’s failure to hold a hearing on the defendant’s pre trial motions may have been error, this fact, without more, fails to present the court with anything from which to discern prejudice to the defendant without a corresponding claim that counsel rendered ineffective assistance at trial. At the most, the trial court’s failure to hold a pre trial hearing on the motions would constitute harmless error.

State v. Draughn, 05-1825 at p. 19, 950 So.2d at 599 .

In this case, the defendant claims he made a “clear showing” that he and Mr. English had a “catastrophic conflict” in their attorney-client relationship, which at a bare minimum, required the trial judge to conduct an ex parte hearing, as was done in State v. Bridgewater, supra, and State v. Campbell, 06-0286 (La. 5/21/08), 983 So.2d 810 . 29 Indeed, on July 26, 2011, Mr. English asked the trial 13F,court for an ex parte hearing to air the divergent defense theories between counsel and client, which the trial court declined, telling Mr. *563 English, “[Y]ou are the attorney, sir ... [a]nd you have to make the.trial decision of what you’re going to proceed with .... ”

In State v. Bridgewater, the trial court held a pretrial, ex parte hearing (following which the transcript was sealed), in which appointed defense counsel clarified that the conflict arose out of the defendant’s wish to present a defense of total innocence and counsel’s recommendation that the defendant admit to second degree murder and argue that the requisite specific intent, needed to prove first degree murder, was lacking. State v. Bridgewater, 00-1529 at pp. 20-21, 823 So.2d at 896 . In Bridgewater, the trial court found that the defendant had voiced the same strategic conflict with his previous counsel and that he had “gone through” two other defense attorneys, suggesting a “pattern.” Id. Given that the Bridgewater defendant’s capital trial was scheduled to begin in four days, this court found no abuse of discretion in the trial court’s denial of defense counsel’s motion to withdraw. Id.

A fair reading of the instant record leaves this court with the inescapable conclusion that the trial judge was intimately familiar with the strategic difficulties playing out between the defendant and Mr. English, which had previously caused the defendant to discharge the public defender’s office and to briefly represent himself. Thus, an ex parte hearing for the sole purpose of reviewing the case history that was already known to the trial court was unnecessarily cumulative, particularly when the issues repeatedly came to light at various pretrial hearings, including on January 4, 2011, January 24, 2011, July 12, 2011, and July 26, 2011. The defendant’s stated complaints about Mr. English all centered on strategic differences, as subsequently articulated by appellate counsel at the hearing on the |37motion for new trial: “Mr. McCoy’s objective was to be acquitted ... and to be allowed to go home. Mr. English’s clear objective was in the guilt phase to have him found guilty of second degree murder ... but given a life sentence and that if it went into the penalty phase to have the jury return a life sentence rather than a death sentence.” The same scenario occurred in Bridgewater and Campbell, wherein capital defendants disagreed with their appointed counsels’ appreciation of the overwhelming evidence against them and disagreed with counsels’ decision to embark on the same defense strategy as Mr. English did in this case, leading to requests to forego representation by their respective counsel.

In this case, neither the defendant nor appellate counsel argue that Mr. English was otherwise incompetent as a defense attorney, although there was considerable discussion about his lack of capital certification. Mr. English held himself out as “a seasoned criminal trial lawyer,” who had “practiced] law for close to twenty years.”

This court has stated that the district court cannot be required to appoint different counsel “merely to please the desires of the indigent accused, in the absence of a showing that the court appointed attorney is inept or incompetent to represent the accused.” State v. White, 256 La. 36, 42 , 235 So.2d 84, 86 (1970).

Nothing presented by the defendant in this assignment of error suggests that the trial judge in this case abused his discretion by not holding an ex parte hearing, in addition to the July 26, 2011 hearing, on the question of Mr. English’s competence to provide an adequate representation. Notwithstanding, any trial court error in this respect appears harmless under State v. Draughn, supra, and Sullivan v. Louisiana, 508 U.S. 275, 279 , 113 S.Ct. 2078, 2081 , 124 L.Ed.2d 182 (1993) (“The inquiry ... is not whether, in a trial that occurred without the error, a guilty verdict would *564 surely have been rendered, but whether the guilty verdict actually rendered in this trial was surely unattributable .to .the error.”). For .these ^reasons, this assignment of error is without merit.

Concession of Guilt at Trial

In his fourth assignment of error, the defendant contends that the trial court erred in ruling that the defendant’s retained counsel could decide whether to concede guilt of the charged murders at trial, without the defendant’s consent. The defendant asserts that the relationship between an attorney and his client “is one of principal and agent wherein the lawyer’s authority derives from and is limited by the authority of the client” (emphasis omitted), such that the defendant should have been able to decide what manner of defense would be presented at trial, instead of having to accept Mr. English’s decision to concede his -guilt, at the outset, in the opening statement.

In support of his position on this issue, the defendant cites State v. Felde, 422 So.2d 370, 393 (La. 1982), cert. denied, 461 U.S. 918 , 103 S.Ct. 1903 , 77 L.Ed.2d 290 (1983), in which the capital defendant asserted that he was “denied effective1 assistance of counsel at trial due to adherence by defense counsel to an employment condition set by the defendant that defense counsel not attempt to obtain any jury verdicts other than ‘Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity’ or ‘Guilty of First Degree Murder’, with. Capital Punishment.” After the Felde defendant was sentenced to death, he appealed raising a claim of ineffective assistance for counsel’s adherence to pursue the “all or nothing” strategy he had imposed. This court refused to find the Felde defendant’s counsel ineffective, observing that “[u]nder our adversary system, once a defendant has the assistance of counsel the vast array of trial decisions, strategic and tactical, which must be made before and during trial rests with the accused and his attorney .... The fact that a particular strategy is unsuccessful does not establish ineffective assistance.” State v. Felde, 422 So.2d at 393 . The Felde court went on to rule that “a defendant can limit his defense consistent with his wishes at the penalty phase of trial.” Id., 422 So.2d at 3951 (emphasis added). ,

This court has subsequently applied the Felde case to permit a capital defendant to instruct his appointed counsel not to present any mitigating evidence in the penalty phase. State v. Bordelon, 07-0525, pp. 35-36 (La. 10/16/09), 33 So.3d 842, 864-65 . Cf. Schriro v. Landrigan, 550 U.S. 465, 479-81 , 127 S.Ct. 1933, 1942-44 , 167 L.Ed.2d 836 (2007) (“[I]t was not objectively unreasonable for th[e] [Arizona] court to conclude that a defendant who refused to allow the presentation of any mitigating evidence could not establish Strickland prejudice based on his counsel’s failure to investigate further possible mitigating evidence .... ”). Importantly, State v. Felde did not endorse the suggestion espoused in the instant case by the defendant, i.e., that trial counsel must adopt a capital client’s unsupportable trial strategy at the guilt phase, particularly when the assertion of such a defense would involve perjured testimony. .

Nevertheless, the defendant urged in brief to this court that Mr. English should have advanced his “unflinchingly maintained claim of innocence,” while Mr. .English repeatedly advised the trial court that to do so would run afoul of his ethical obligations. See Louisiana Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 1.2(d) (“A lawyer shall not counsel a client to engage, or assist a client, in conduct that the lawyer knows is criminal or fraudulent .... ”). Given the overarching burden of Mr. English’s requirement as an attorney to adhere to Rule 1.2(d), the defendant’s re *565 peated assertion that “the principal has the right throughout the duration of the relationship to control the agent’s acts” is unpersuasive.

The Supreme Court discussed such an ethical dilemma in United States v. Cronic, 466 U.S. 648 , 656 n.19, 104 S.Ct. 2039 , 2045 n.19, 80 L.Ed.2d 657 (1984):

Of course, the Sixth Amendment does not require that counsel do what is impossible or unethical. If there is no bona fide defense to the charge, counsel cannot create one and may disserve the interests of his Undient by attempting a useless charade. At the same time, even when no theory of defense is available, if the decision to stand trial has been made, counsel must hold the prosecution to its heavy burden of proof beyond reasonable doubt. And, of course, even when there is a bona fide defense, counsel may still advise his client to plead guilty if that advice falls within the range of reasonable competence under the circumstances. [Citations omitted.]

Applying these ethical considerations to the present case, the agency relationship between an attorney and client anticipates that the attorney will comply with the client’s lawful instructions. In this case, presenting an alibi defense at the guilt phase put Mr. 'English in-an ethical conundrum, as committing perjury is a crime pursuant to LSA-R.S. 14:123, In Nix v. Whiteside, 475 U.S. 157, 173-76 , 106 S.Ct. 988, 997-99 , 89 L.Ed.2d 123 (1986), the Supreme Court determined that the Sixth Amendment right to assistance of counsel is not violated when an attorney refuses to cooperate with a defendant in presenting perjured testimony at trial.

In the instant case, the State’s evidence against the defendant was overwhelming. In a post-trial affidavit, Mr. English explained his trial strategy:

Robert McCoy believed that law enforcement and others were conspiring against him and he was simply unable to accept the evidence against him .... I became convinced that the evidence against Robert McCoy was overwhelming ... ¡ I know that Robert was completely opposed to me telling the jury that he was guilty of killing the three victims and telling the jury that he was crazy but I believed that this was the only way to save his life. I needed to maintain my credibility with the jury in the penalty phase and could not do that if I argued in the guilt phase that he was not in Louisiana at the time of the killings, as he insisted. I consulted with other counsel and was aware of the Haynes case and so I believed that I was entitled to concede Robert’s guilt of second degree murder even though he had expressly told me not to do so. I felt that as long as I was his attorney of record it was my ethical duty to do what I thought w;as best to save his life even» though what he wanted me to do was to get him acquitted in the guilt phase. I believed the evidence to be overwhelming and that it was my job to act in what I believed to be my client’s best interests .... I firmly believe that Robert McCoy is insane and was not competent to be tried .... [H]e could not assist counsel or participate effectively in the proceedings due to his mental illness. He could not rationally understand the proceedings because he saw the evidence, the procedures and the rulings through the lens of his delusion that law enforcement, the prosecutor, the judge and 141 ultimately myself were conspiring against him. Robert could not consult with me with any reasonable degree of rational understanding both because his paranoia and delusions destroyed our professional relationship and also because all information was distorted or *566 obscured by his delusions .... Robert was unable to deal rationally with the evidence of his guilt and the case against him. Robert could not recall and relate facts pertaining to his actions and whereabouts at the time of the crime because he truly believed that he was elsewhere at the time of the crime. He could not assist in locating and examining relevant witnesses because his witnesses were a part of his delusions in some cases or their relevance was dictated by his paranoia and his belief in a large scale conspiracy against him. Robert could not review discovery or listen to evidence and assist in assessing any distortions or misstatements because he could not grapple with the evidence in the real world. He could not make rational decisions despite my efforts to clearly explain his alternatives and could not testify except to give vent to his delusions and paranoia ....

Mr. English acknowledged his ethical dilemma to the trial judge numerous times during the course of the trial court proceedings. During a January 4, 2011 hearing, Mr. English stated that the defendant was “recommending ... a course of action that [he (Mr. English) did] not believe [was] in [the defendant’s] best interest,” and Mr. English “believe[d] as a lawyer that [he had] an ethical duty given the ramifications of this case to not follow that advice.” Mr. England further advised the trial court, during a January 24, 2011 hearing, that he believed he “ha[d] an ethical duty to this man not to follow his bizarre behavior.” Mr. England repeatedly reiterated to the trial court, as he did during a July 12, 2011 hearing, that he “ha[d] an ethical duty ... to try to defend [the defendant] and do the ... best [he (Mr. English) could] to save [the defendant’s] life.” The alibi defense the defendant wanted Mr. England to put on, but which could not be substantiated, had no reasonable chance of success, but exposed those who attempted such a defense to the charge of perjury.

The ongoing discussion of this trial strategy issue culminated at the pretrial hearing held on July 26, 2011, when it was raised by trial counsel as follows:

MR. ENGLISH: Your Honor, at this time I’m going to ask for an ex parte hearing with the Court to discuss my representation with Mr. l4?McCoy .... Mr. McCoy is insistent that I put forward a defense in this case at the guilt phase of this trial. I have made a determination, Your Honor, that the evidence in this case is so overwhelming against Mr. McCoy that in order to do that ....

[[Image here]]

THE COURT: ... I think that you’ve stated this on the record prior to this date .... I believe that—you are the attorney, sir .... And you have to make the trial decision of what you’re going to proceed with ....

Clearly, the trial judge had Professional Conduct Rule 1.2(d) in mind when he reminded Mr. English that he was the attorney, i.e., the person who had the ethical obligation to advance a lawful defense. 30

Conceding guilt, in the hope of saving a defendant’s life at the penalty phase, is a reasonable course of action in a case in *567 which evidence of guilt is overwhelming. Louisiana courts have consistently upheld the defense strategy of acknowledging guilt, against a charge of ineffective assistance of counsel, under the standard enunciated in Strickland, See e.g. State v. Tucker, 13-1631, pp. 36-41 (La. 9/1/15), 181 So.3d 590, 618-21 , cert. denied, — U.S. -, 136 S.Ct. 1801 , 195 L.Ed.2d 774 (2016) (wherein the capital defendant did not acquiesce in counsel’s decision to admit guilt of second degree murder and feticide in the guilt phase closing argument and, on direct appeal, this court found that the defendant failed to demonstrate a per se violation of the Sixth Amendment resulting from a conflict of interest, noting that “counsel’s obligation to provide effective assistance ‘is limited to legitimate, lawful conduct compatible with the very nature of a trial as a search for truth’ and did not extend to ‘in any way assisting the client in presenting false evidence or otherwise violating the law”’; no claim of ineffective | ^assistance, under Strickland, was presented on appeal); State v. Holmes, 06 -2988, p. 1 n.2 (La. 12/2/08), 5 So.3d 42, 48 , cert denied, 558 U.S. 932 , 130 S.Ct. 70 , 175 L.Ed.2d 233 (2009) (unpublished appendix) (noting defense counsel conceded the defendant was guilty of second degree murder, but that the jury found the State proved guilt of first degree murder, this court concluded that, given the defendant’s numerous inculpatory statements and possession of the victim’s property, counsel’s decision to concede her guilt to second degree murder fell well within the ambit of sound trial strategy); State v. Legrand, 02-1462, p. 27 (La. 12/3/03), 864 So.2d 89, 107 (unpublished appendix) (“[Rjegarding counsel’s acknowledgment of guilt during defense closing argument, an acknowledgment of guilt may form part of defense strategy” and did not constitute ineffective assistance.); State v. Taylor, 01-1638, p. 4 (La. 1/14/03), 838 So.2d 729, 737 (“The defense conceded defendant’s guilt, but argued the crime more properly fit second degree murder.”); State v. Frost, 97-1771 (La. 12/1/98), 727 So.2d 417, 439 , cert denied, 528 U.S. 831 , 120 S.Ct. 87 , 145 L.Ed.2d 74 (1999) (unpublished appendix) (“Trial counsel employed a clear strategy throughout voir dire, the guilt phase, and the penalty phase of defendant’s trial of acknowledging defendant’s guilt and the brutal nature of the crime while pleading for the jury to spare defendant’s life ... [Cjounsel’s admission that the crime was ‘cruel, heinous, and atrocious,’ formed part of a carefully constructed strategy to save defendant’s life ... [T]he defendant has not demonstrated counsel’s decision rendered his trial globally unfair or the verdict generally suspect ... [and it] did little to prejudice defendant’s case.”); State v. Burkhalter, 428 So.2d 449, 457 (La. 1983) (wherein the defendant was found guilty of second degree murder, though charged with first degree murder, and this court found no ineffective assistance of defense counsel, who had argued that at most the defendant was guilty of second degree murder; this court stated, “Defendant’s lawyer succeeded in saving defendant from | ^execution, no doubt ... because of tactical decisions in trying the case like the arguments to which defendant now takes exception.”); State v. Berry, 430 So.2d 1005, 1014-15 (La. 1983) (wherein defense attorney’s admission of the defendant’s intent to commit robbery was not held ineffective assistance of counsel, finding that counsel “may have been trying to establish his candor with the jury” and that “[n]arrowing the presumption of innocence claim to the charge of first degree murder was intended to direct the jury toward a lesser verdict”). '

This court does not sit to second guess strategic and tactical choices made by trial counsel. State v. Hoffman, 98- *568 3118, p. 40 (La. 4/11/00), 768 So.2d 542, 579 , supplemented, 00-1609 (La. 6/14/00), 768 So.2d 592 (per curiam), cert. denied, 531 U.S. 946 , 121 S.Ct. 345 , 148 L.Ed.2d 277 (2000); State v. Myles, 389 So.2d 12, 31 (La. 1979). We find no merit in this assignment of error.

Counsel’s Failure to Follow Express Directions of the Defendant

In the interrelated fifth and sixth assignments of error, the defendant claims that he was denied the assistance of counsel within the meaning of the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, § 13 of the Louisiana Constitution when his lawyer conceded his guilt against his expressly-stated wishes, setting up an irreconcilable conflict of interest between attorney and client and resulting in defense counsel’s failure to adversarially test the State’s case. 31

Ur,By conceding the defendant’s guilt in his opening statement and again in his closing argument of the guilt phase—conceding before the jury that the defendant caused the deaths of the three victims but because of his mental deficiencies he lacked the specific intent to murder—the defendant argues that Mr. English failed to subject the prosecution’s case to meaningful adversarial testing, and under United States v. Cronic, supra, prejudice must be presumed. The defendant urges that this trial strategy deprived him of the presumption of innocence along with the right to knowingly and intelligently exercise his privilege against compulsory self-incrimination, his right to trial by jury, his right to present a defense, and his right to confront his accusers. Even though the fifth and sixth assignments of error are worded in terms of “denial of right to counsel,” the argument is essentially one of ineffective assistance of counsel, which this court has consistently reviewed under the Strickland standard. 32

[A]s a defense lawyer, we are trained to make the State prove every piece of evidence that it wishes to interject into a trial. In this case I cannot stand in front of you because of what the stakes are in this case and lie to you or tell you any differently that the District Attorney can prove every fact that he has just alleged to you. There is no way reasonably possible that you can listen to the evidence in this case and not come to any other conclusion than Robert McCoy was the cause of these individuals’ death[s]. But that’s not the only issue to be decided. First degree murder requires that there be specific intent—specific intent to kill those individuals, The State cannot put on any evidence that Robert McCoy ever made any malice statement towards those individuals; that those individuals was [sic] ever on his radar to do harm. Robert McCoy is crazy .... He meets the legal definition of competent, but evidence will be put on in this case that Robert McCoy suffers from emotional and mental issues that affects [sic] his ability to make decisions in this case .... We believe that the evidence will show that because of Mr. McCoy’s emotional and mental conditions that this is a second degree murder trial.

In United States v. Cronic, decided the same day as Strickland v. Washington, the Supreme Court created a limited ex *569 ception to the application of Strickland’s two-part test in situations that “are so likely to prejudice the accused that the cost of litigating their effect in the particular case is unjustified.” Cronic, 466 U.S. at 658 , 104 S.Ct. at 2046 . The Supreme Court identified three situations implicating the right to counsel in which prejudice will be presumed. First are situations in which a defendant is denied counsel at a critical stage of a criminal proceeding, i.e., the complete denial of counsel. Second, and the most relevant here, are situations in which a defendant’s trial counsel “entirely fails to subject the ^prosecution's case to meaningful adversarial testing.” Cronic, 466 U.S. at 659 , 104 S.Ct. at 2047 . Finally, prejudice is presumed when the circumstances surrounding a trial prevent a defendant’s attorney from rendering effective assistance of counsel. Cronic, 466 U.S. at 659-60 , 104 S.Ct. at 2047 (citing Powell v. Alabama, 287 U.S. 45, 57-58 , 53 S.Ct. 55 , 77 L.Ed. 158 (1932)). As to the second situation envisioned by Cronic, prejudice is presumed when the attorney “ ‘entirely fails to subject the prosecution’s case to meaningful adversarial testing.’” Bell v. Cone, 535 U.S. 685, 696-97 , 122 S.Ct. 1843, 1851 , 152 L.Ed.2d 914 (2002) (quoting Cronic, 466 U.S. at 659 , 104 S.Ct. 2039 ). Bell v. Cone made plain that the difference between Strickland, which deals with the failure of counsel on specific points, and Cronic, which addresses the complete failure of counsel to oppose the prosecution, is one “not of degree but of kind.” Id. 33 Courts distinguish Strickland and Cronic, as the “distinction between ineffective assistance of counsel and;the constructive denial of counsel,” respectively. Haynes v. Cain, 298 F.3d 375, 381 (5th Cir. 2002), cert. denied, 537 U.S. 1072 , 123 S.Ct. 676 , 154 L.Ed.2d 567 (2002).

In the present case, the, .defendant argues that Cronic controls his .Sixth Amendment claim and that prejudice should be presumed because, by conceding his guilt in the opening statement of the guilt phase of trial, Mr. English “entirely fail[ed] to subject the prosecution’s case to meaningful adversarial testing.” (Emphasis omitted.) On the other, hand, the State opines that in analyzing the defendant’s counsel and representation claims, the Strickland standard should apply. For the second situation of Cronic to apply, “the attorney’s failure must be Incomplete.” Bell v. Cone, 535 U.S. at 697 , 122 S.Ct. at 1851 . Here, by conceding the defendant’s guilt, Mr. English did not completely abdicate the defendant’s defense, rather Mr. English advanced what he saw wás the only viable course of action. At the hearing on the motion for new trial, Mr. English testified about his trial strategy of conceding the defendant’s guilt:

[MR. ENGLISH:] I reached that conclusion [as to trial strategy] a long time before [the day of trial], that I Was going to have to stand in front of, that jury.and beg for Robert McCoy’s life. I had no option.

[POST-CONVICTION DEFENSE COUNSEL:] And that conceding his guilt in your mind was the only way to go for it.

[MR. ENGLISH:] I’m a seasoned criminal trial lawyer, had been doing this for *570 a number of years, and I had never had a case where the evidence was so overwhelming against a client.

In addition, Mr. English remained active at trial, probing weaknesses in the prosecution’s case. As stated hereinafter in connection with our discussion of the defendant’s tenth assignment of error, during jury selection, Mr. English ardently fought to retain some racial diversity in the defendant’s trial by pressing a Batson claim and arguing for challenges when warranted. During trial, Mr. English cross-examined most of the State’s guilt phase witnesses, frequently asking questions written by the defendant. 34

Here, the defendant pled not guilty to the three-count indictment. Mr. English’s strategy was to concede the defendant’s guilt, but in an effort to spare |4Shim capital punishment he argued that a verdict of second degree murder would be more appropriate, asserting that the defendant’s mental incapacity prevented him from forming the requisite specific intent to commit first degree murder. The defendant, faults this trial strategy, given that Louisiana does not recognize the defense of diminished capacity. 35 The defendant *571 urges that, by conceding the only factual issue in dispute, Mr. English did not submit the State’s case to the crucible of adversarial testing and, thus, denying him the second category of right to counsel delineated in Cronic, and depriving him of a fundamentally fair trial, requiring reversal without any showing of specific prejudice.

The U.S. Supreme Court addressed a similar argument in Florida v. Nixon, 543 U.S. 175 , 125 S.Ct. 551 , 160 L.Ed.2d 565 (2004). Nixon was charged with capital murder and faced overwhelming evidence of his guilt at trial, including his own confession in graphic detail as- to how he kidnapped and killed his victim. Nixon, 543 U.S. at 180 , 125 S.Ct. at 556 . After investigating the State’s evidence |49and witnesses, defense counsel developed a strategy to concede Nixon’s guilt and ask the jury to spare his life. Id., 543 U.S. at 181 , 125 S.Ct. at 557 . Defense counsel explained this strategy to Nixon on multiple occasions. Id. However, Nixon never consented and, instead, remained unresponsive throughout these discussions. Id. After state post-conviction proceedings, the Florida Supreme Court, relying on Cronic, held that Nixon’s conviction should be reversed because of defense counsel’s failure to obtain Nixon’s affirmative and explicit consent to pursue a strategy of conceding guilt. Id., 543 U.S. at 186 , 125 S.Ct. at 560 . The U.S. Supreme Court granted certiora-ri to resolve the question of whether defense counsel’s failure to obtain Nixon’s express consent to concede his guilt should be evaluated under Cronic or Strickland. Nixon, 543 U.S. at 186-87 , 125 S.Ct. at 560 . The Supreme Court reversed, holding that “counsel’s effectiveness should not be evaluated under the Cronic standard, but under the standard described in Strickland.” Id. 36 Defense counsel, in conceding Nixon’s factual guilt, had not waived the State’s obligation to prove beyond a reasonable doubt, through competent and admissible evidence, that Nixon committed first degree murder. Id., 543 U.S. at 188 , 125 S.Ct. at 561 . The Supreme Court stated that such a concession strategy does not amount to the functional equivalent of entering a guilty plea on the defendant’s behalf—the State must still prove its case subject to cross-examination of its witnesses by defense counsel—and may constitute a reasonable strategic choice in a case in which the circumstances of the crime are horrendous and the evidence of the defendant’s guilt overwhelming. 37 Under those [fiorircumstances, “ ‘avoiding execution [may be] the best and only realistic result possible.’ ” Id., 543 U.S. at 191 , 125 S.Ct. at 562 -63 (quoting ABA Guidelines for the Appointment and Performance of Defense Counsel in Death Penalty Cases, § 10.9.1, Commentary (Rev. ed. 2003) (re *572 printed in 31 Hofstra L.Rev. 913, 1040 (2003)). 38

’ Given the circumstances of this crime and the overwhelming evidence incriminating the defendant, admitting guilt in an attempt to avoid the imposition of the 'death penalty appears to constitute reasonable trial strategy^ The jury was left with several choices after Mr. English conceded that the defendant shot the three victims, including returning a responsive verdict of second degree murder or manslaughter, as well as not returning the death penalty. Therefore, in light of Nixon, the defendant has not shown that trial counsel’s actions were ineffective. See State v. Felde, 422 So.2d at 393 (“The fact that a particular strategy is unsuccessful doés not establish ineffective assistance.”). Cf. Jones v. Stotts, 59 F.3d 143, 146 (10th Cir. 1995) (“A defendant may prevail on an ineffective' assistance claim relating to trial strategy ... if he can show counsel’s strategy decisions would not be considered sound.”).

The defendant states that he “is explicitly not raising a claim of ineffective assistance under the Strickland standard at this time,” in which case the defendant “would, bear the burden of establishing prejudice,” reserving that claim for post-conviction proceedings “if they should become necessary.”

| m Accordingly, we conclude that the defendant has shown no per se violation of the Sixth. Amendment resulting from any conflict of interest. Therefore, we find no merit in the defendant’s fifth and sixth assignments of error.

.Deprivation of Other Constitutional Rights

In his seventh assignment of error, the defendant complains that Mr. English was not acting as the defendant’s lawyer “in any true sense,” which deprived him of his constitutional rights, including the right to compulsory process. Specifically, the defendant claims that Mr. English refused to subpoena the defendant’s witnesses, offered no opposition to quashal, of the defendant’s pro se subpoenas, and declared that he would not call any of the witnesses the defendant sought by way of-those subpoenas, contrary to the defendant’s wishes. The defendant also complains that by conceding his guilt Mr. English nullified his plea of not- guilty, deprived him of his constitutional right to an impartial jury, and Mr. English’s “limited” cross-examination undermined his right to confront and cross-examine his accusers, all of which relieved the State of its burden under the Due Process Clause. The defendant suggests that at his capital trial, he “had in effect two prosecutors and no defense lawyer.”

The defendant’s pro se. subpoena requests commanded a good bit of the trial court’s pretrial attention in this case. As noted in our discussion of the defendant’s fourth assignment of error, supra, presentation of the defendant’s alibi defense was not ethically possible for Mr. English, and thus there was no legitimate reason that Mr. English would have defended the pro se subpoena requests from quashal. See *573 State v. Kenner, 336 So.2d 824, 831 (La. 1976) (counsel is not required to undertake futile steps). No constitutional violation has been demonstrated.

Likewise, as discussed in connection with the defendant’s fifth assignment of error, supra, Mr. English actively cross-examined the State’s witnesses. Finally, Mr. English’s concession of guilt did not render the defendant’s not guilty- plea | ^meaningless, as the State was still obliged to present evidence establishing the essential elements of the crimes charged. See Florida v. Nixon, 643 U.S. at 187-88, 125 S.Ct. at 560-61 (counsel’s guilt phase concession of Nixon’s guilt did not amount to “the functional equivalent of a guilty plea” and did not- waive Nixon’s constitutional rights, including the right to a. trial by jury, the. protection against self-incrimination, and the right to confront one’s accusers).

The abundance of evidence that the defendant killed the three victims in this case set the course for how the trial would unfold. All of the parties were imminently aware of the high stakes of the capital trial. 39 At every turn, the trial judge scrupulously sought to protect the defendant’s constitutional rights. Mr. English’s strategic decision to concede factual guilt did not waive the defendant’s constitutional rights, but rather was a strategic choice designed to obtain the lesser verdict of second degree murder, instead of first degree murder. Nixon forecloses the claims raised in this assignment of error.

Failure to Appoint Certified Capitol Defense Co-Counsel

In the defendant’s eighth assignment of error, he claims that he was denied the assistance of co-counsel to which he was entitled and that his waivers of appointment of co-counsel were not knowingly and intelligently made. The issue arose during pretrial at hearings held on January 24, 2011 and February 3, 2011. At the conclusion of both hearings, the trial judge indicated that the “only way” he could appoint additional counsel would be to have the public, defender’s office assist Mr. English as co-counsel, a choice that the defendant repeatedly declined as an option. Consequently, the hearings ended with the trial judge’s conclusion that the defendant had made a “knowing, voluntary, and intelligent” waiver of co-counsel, and he denied the State’s motion for appointment of additional counsel. | ¡¡¡¡The defendant now argues that at both the January 24, 2011 and the February 3, 2011 hearings, the trial court erred by failing to fully-advise him of the benefits of two capital qualified attorneys. The defendant further suggests that the trial judge erred by limiting his options for co-counsel to only that provided by the public defender’s office, when additional counsel could have been appointed from the “office of the State Public Defender.”

At issue during the January 24, 2011 hearing was Louisiana Supreme Court Rule XXXI(A)(l)(a), which provides that in cases of indigent capital defendants, the trial court “shall appoint no less than two attorneys to represent the defendant. At least two of the appointed attorneys must be certified as qualified to serve in capital cases .... ” “[T]o determine defendant’s waiver of co-counsel at defendant’s capital murder trial,” the State had filed a “Motion to Determine Waiver of Co-Counsel,” which was before the court on January 24, 2011. Also present at the January 24, 2011 *574 hearing was Randall Fish of the local public defender’s office.

During the hearing, not only did the trial court inform the defendant of his rights, but the district attorney also stated that “the intent of the rule in having two attorneys is, if one attorney gets up there in the guilt phase and the jury finds the defendant guilty there is a theory out there that that attorney has lost his ... ‘creditability1 ... with the jury. And then another attorney should step up to handle ... the penalty phase.” Mr. English advised the court that he did “not have another counsel that intends to participate at trial.” After the defendant and trial counsel conferred, the following colloquy occurred:

MR. ENGLISH: It is my understanding that if the Court appoints a co-counsel, that co-counsel ... would be a public defender. Mr. McCoy has ... stated to me that he does not want the public defender’s office appointed as co-counsel in this case. Okay. I want to state for the record, Your Honor ... I’m not capital certified; we waived that .... I am confident, Your Honor, that if I’m allowed to have all the tools that I can adequately give him a defense.

I * * * I 54

THE COURT: ... The only option that I would have, if I appointed anyone, would be the public defender’s office. MR. MCCOY: I can’t get a conflict of interest attorney, Your Honor? Outside the public defender’s office? From what I understood, Your Honor, I am entitled to a conflict of interest attorney, Your Honor.

[DISTRICT ATTORNEY]: Your Hon- or, there’s never been any conflict of interest.

THE COURT: Not that I know of .... Mr. McCoy, there has not been a conflict of interest. The public defender’s office would have been appointed in your case and has been appointed in your case. You retained private counsel through Mr. English .... And then you stated that you wished to waive his capital certification on the record. The other side of that is that if this Court were to appoint anyone the Court would have to appoint the public defender’s office. That’s the only persons that the Court could appoint .... So the Court would only have the option to appoint the public defender’s office. If the public defender’s office felt that there was a conflict in any way then they would appoint conflict counsel at that point. But I would have to go back to the public defender’s office to appoint someone as a co-counsel, Mr. McCoy ... Do you wish this Court to appoint a public defender office attorney as a second attorney? That is up to you, Mr. McCoy.

⅜ ⅜ $

MR. ENGLISH: I ... would not object to a co-counsel being appointed but that’s up to Mr. McCoy.

MR. MCCOY: Your Honor, I’m undecided at this moment ... that’s a hard decision to make, Your Honor. This decision that I make, Your Honor ... will be a decision that will mitigate the rest of my life, Your Honor.

* * ⅜

MR. ENGLISH: I think ... to make sure that we move forward with this that the Court appoint a public defender as a second counsel in this case, Your Honor.

THE COURT: Mr. Fish?

MR FISH: Your Honor, on behalf of the public defender’s office we’re going to certainly object ... to being appointed as co-counsel .... Mr. McCoy has private counsel, Your Honor.

[[Image here]]

*575 MR. ENGLISH: ... [B]ecause the public defender’s office objects, | 55Your Hon- or, I withdraw that ... request.

[[Image here]]

THE COURT: Okay, then that request has been withdrawn.

Thereafter, trial counsel again conferred with the defendant and the following statements were made:

MR ENGLISH: ... Your Honor, Mr. McCoy wants me to put on the record I have other lawyers who are advising me on this case, including the public [defender’s] office .... I will be the only lawyer that will be handling the trial, Your Honor, but in terms of ... helping prepare me for this ease, I have ... relied on both Pam Smart [and] James Gray ... [of] ... the state public defender’s office, and ... several mitigation experts, Your Honor ... Mr. McCoy is now ... going to state, Your Honor, that he waives appointing a second person to the case. Correct, Mr. McCoy?

MR. MCCOY: You’re correct.

The January 24, 2011 hearing concluded with the defendant waiving appointment of a Rule XXXI second attorney to his case.

The counsel issue was back before the court on February 3, 2011, following remand from the Second Circuit, which included a strong directive to the trial court “to ensure that Mr. McCoy is, or has been, fully apprised on the record of the benefits of having two capital-defense qualified attorneys and that McCoy has knowingly and intelligently waived same.” State v. McCoy, 46,394 (La. App. 2 Cir. 2/3/11). In response to the Second Circuit’s February 3rd ruling, the State filed, on the same day, its motion to appoint additional counsel. The trial court held a hearing on the motion, upon its filing, on February 3rd. Randall Fish, of the public defender’s office was also present at the February 3rd hearing, when the trial court fully explained the situation to defendant:

THE COURT: Mr. McCoy . you have been declared indigent ... for purposes of being able to get mitigation experts. There is a Supreme Court rule that is out there that states that if you’re declared indigent that you have the right to counsel, which you’ve already been advised of that right to counsel, that you would be given—Mr. English would still be your counsel but that ... death qualified attorneys would be appointed to represent you in this matter. That | (;6would come through the public defender’s office, which they would appoint death qualified personnel to be able to represent you in this case. Mr. Marvin has asked that those two people be qualified and that you be appointed through the public defender’s office death qualified individuals. That usually comes through CAPOLA, which is the Capital Assistance Program if I’m stating that correctly, and CAPOLA would be appointed and determine who those counsels are ...

[DISTRICT ATTORNEY]: I think that the Court should ... appoint the public defender’s office with instructions that it should appoint two death qualified people and there may be one from this local PDO and one from CAPOLA or maybe more tha[n] one.

⅜ ⅝ ⅝

MR. ENGLISH: ... Mr. McCoy has an objection ... if the counsels come from the public defender’s office here locally. I have explained to him that ... more likely than not ... that those two attorneys would be appointed from the Louisiana Capital Defense Association. Which means they ... do not work for the public defender’s office. They are ' death penalty qualified. More likely than *576 not they will be two attorneys in private practice who ,.. work with this association. And that the public defender’s office will merely be retaining those people. But nobody from the local public defender’s office will be involved in this case and ... would the local public defender’s office agree with that?

⅜ ⅜ ⅜

MR. FISH: Randall Fish, on behalf of the public defender’s office. Your Honor, at this time we don’t know. As far as I know a capital case through the public defender’s office would be assigned to me and Larrion Hillman. I don’t know, at this point, I certainly don’t know that the Capital Assistance Project would be secured through the public defender’s office ... at the present time. And in addition, we may or may not seek ... review of being appointed in addition to Mr. English. That’s something I have to discuss with Ms. Smart and make a decision on in the next day or two. But I do see some practical problems with appointed counsel being appointed in addition to private counsel .... [I]f we’re to be appointed, I think it should be our responsibility to solely handle the defense of the case and not share that responsibility with Mr. English.

⅜ $ ⅜

MR. ENGLISH: Your Honor, the Second Circuit made a certain suggestion, the D.A. has filed a motion ... I don’t object to additional counsel being appointed to support me. [M]y ego is not such as that .... I’m confident that under the facts of this case that I can do what needs to be done. But certainly having two additional attorneys in no way offends me. Mr. McCoy, Your. Hon- or, does not believe ... that the public defender’s office will adequately represent him .... He would not have any problems, Your Honor, if the lawyers come from |wthe Louisiana Capital Defense Association. In light of everything that Mr. Fish has said ... I have no response ... to that. I’m simply trying to communicate where I believe my chent’s position is .... I personally do not have any problem and recommended to Mr. McCoy that you cannot have to[o] many lawyers in a case like this .... I’m perfectly comfortable proceeding as a single attorney because I’m relying upon the expertise—there are other ... capital defense lawyers who have been providing me expertise and direction in this case. I understand it is a capital case; I feel confident ... that I can represent Mr. McCoy. But I welcome any help if the Court so deems so and the district attorney’s office deems so. The problem is with Mr. McCoy, Your Honor, ... he doesn’t have any confidence in the public defender’s office.

THE COURT: All right. Mr. McCoy?

MR. ENGLISH: Have I said that correctly, Mr. McCoy?

MR. MCCOY: You’re exactly right, sir.

THE COURT: ,.. The district attorney has asked that additional capital qualified personnel be appointed to represent you, sir. And I am entertaining that motion at the present time. The only way that I can appoint anybody is that it has to be appointed through the public defender’s office. And the public defender’s office would of course decide who would be capital qualified to be able to represent you, and assist Mr. English, that is my option. From listening to Mr. English you’re stating that you want Mr. English and Mr. English alone to represent you and you do not want the public defender’s office to represent you. Is that what this Court is hearing?

MR. MCCOY: Well what I’m saying today, Your Honor, I would love, you know, to have my prior representation *577 of Mr. English but the assistance of the public defender board, no, sir, it’s not needed by myself. I have no confidence in the public defender board. I’ve had prior run-ins with the public' defender board. And if I’m not mistaken, Judge, I mean, please correct me if I’m wrong, there are some outside officials that can be retained through the—the Louisiana Association for other conflict of interest attorneys, Your Honor. I mean, this is my life, Your Honor .... I understand the statements ... that are validated before, the Court, Your Honor, but I have no second chance at this, Your Honor. And I don’t want the Court to put counsel on me, Your Honor, that I don’t want. I object of this, Your Honor.

⅜ $ ⅜

[Mr. English confers with Mr. McCoy off the record.]

⅜ ⅜ ‡

THE COURT: Mr. McCoy, are you telling this Court that you fully waive the public defender’s office being appointed? Understanding that Mr. English is not capital qualified. And that you 1 ¿«waive these two attorneys, I mean, you waive the Court appointing the public defender’s office with capital qualified attorneys to be sitting on this case? Is that what you’re telling this Court?

MR. MCCOY: Your Honor, I’m telling this Court today that I am confident with Mr. English but with other legal assistance beyond the public defender’s office, Your Honor. Beyond the public defender’s office, Your Honor. Because if they was to appoint me—Your Honor, this is to better represent the Court as well. If they were to appoint me some counsel from the public defender’s office, I’m going to fire them, Your Honor. I’m just putting it qualified on the record; I’m going to fire them.

THE COURT: So you are waiving any representation by the public defender’s office fully and voluntarily, is that what I hear you say?

MR. MCCOY: Yes, I don’t want anybody from the public defender’s office, Your Honor. But beyond the public defender’s office, Your Honor,; conflict of interest attorney, I will accept-... from the Louisiana Defense Association of the Capital Association,-1 will accept, Your Honor. . ■ >

THE COURT: Mr. McCoy, I don’t have that authority. The only authority T can do is appoint the public defender’s office. I will ask you again, are you fully, and knowingly, and voluntarily waiving the public defender’s office to -be appointed as co-counsel with Mr. English?- •

MR. MCCOY: Yes, I am, Your Honor.

Thereafter, the defendant acknowledged that he did not know who- the public defender’s office might assign to his!case, but he reiterated 'that he had past dealings with Mr. Fish and Ms. Smart, and consequently, he did not want as counsel- any representative from the public defender’s office, even someone he had never known before. The district attorney -re-emphasized the rationale underlying Rule: XXXI to the defendant: . • >■;

[DISTRICT ATTORNEY]: ... And you understand the reason the Court is trying to appoint two lawyers is if-you end up being found guilty and this cáse proceeds into the penalty phase to determine whether you end up with a death penalty or life in prison. The reason the Supreme Court rule says that you should appoint two 'attorneys is because that attorney that handled the guilt phase of the trial has failed And the jury might possibly have lost confidence in anything that- he or she says and not believe them. So in the penalty phase when that same lawyer *578 stands up there and says, ladies and gentlemen, you only have two options here give my client death or give him a life | ^sentence. There is no not guilty at that point.

The defendant responded affirmatively, indicating, “Uh-huhThe district attorney then asked the defendant, “Do you understand that if the Court appoints the public defender’s office and you end up with two lawyers that you don’t like ... you always have the right to terminate those law-' yers?” The defendant answered:

MR. MCCOY: Yes, sir. I just spoke that on the record; I’m fully aware of that. But the repercussions of that is this is time consuming .... and most of all ... that is against my best judgment ... to even obtain someone that I have no confidence in whatsoever ....

Thereafter, the trial judge reiterated the purpose of appointing two attorneys to represent an indigent capital defendant and then asked for the defendant’s confirmation:

THE COURT: Mr. McCoy, [the district attorney] has covered, like I tried to cover with you, what the Supreme Court is stating. The Supreme Court has stated that ... for some reason you go into the guilt phase and they find you guilty, and then it goes to a penalty phase. If Mr. English is the only attorney the Supreme Court has stated that he may lose creditability and that may affect you in the penalty phase as [the district attorney] has stated before. That is the reason behind the Supreme Court statute .... My only recourse is to appoint the public defender’s office. Do you want me to appoint the public defender’s office as second counsel?

MR. MCCOY: For the record, again, Your Honor, I’m totally opposed to that and most of all, Your Honor. I mean, if you really look at it, Your Honor, I choose not to be strong armed to take a public defender’s aspect of secondary counsel when that’s totally against my wishes, Your Honor. I know the Court by verbatim can work some other appointment of capital specialist out—other than the public defender board, Your Honor. Because the public defender board may can finance someone through the public defender’s office to represent me in another ... jurisdiction.

THE COURT: The only option ... this Court has is once you’re declared indigent is to appoint the public defender’s office. You understand all of your rights, is that correct, Mr. McCoy?

MR. MCCOY: That’s exactly correct, Your Honor.

THE COURT: You understand that you have the right to have another attorney appointed to represent you through the public defender’s office, is that correct?

MR. MCCOY: Yes, sir, but I don’t want that, Your Honor.

| iíqTHE COURT: And you are fully and voluntarily waiving those rights, is that correct?

MR. MCCOY: I’m waiving the right of someone from the public defender’s office representing me, Your Honor, because—

THE COURT: And you’re doing that knowingly and voluntarily, is that correct?

MR. MCCOY: Yes, sir.

THE COURT: All right, thank you, sir. Then I will not appoint the public defender’s office at this time ....

Nevertheless, the defendant now suggests that, even after these comprehensive exchanges, he “was denied” the right to qualified counsel based on an “inadequate waiver.”

*579 Importantly, Rule XXXI does not create a statutory right to two attorneys for indigents facing a capital trial. “The Rules shall not be construed to confer substantive or procedural rights in favor of any accused beyond those rights recognized or granted by the United States Constitution, the Louisiana Constitution, the laws of the state, and the jurisprudence of the courts.” Louisiana Supreme Court Rule XXXI(B). 40 In State v. Jones, 97-2593 at pp. 5-6, 707 So.2d at 978 , the trial court faced the same situation and determined that for purposes of Rule XXXI, co-counsel could be appointed notwithstanding that the Jones defendant had a retained, and subsequently pro bono, counsel, presaging the scenario at hand:

It is plainly preferable to have two attorneys in a capital case and we find no reason that the presence of collaterally retained private counsel should eliminate the need or countermand the advantages of two. Further, we can discern no reasoning nor find authority for the proposition that an indigent defendant is entitled to two State-funded attorneys,, but an indigent defendant who has retained counsel from a collateral source is not entitled to a second counsel. Certainly, it is in the best interest of the taxpayer to encourage collaterally obtained counsel at no cost to the public fisc. It would therefore defy logic to |Mpunish such a defendant by refusing to appoint co-counsel because he has, in effect, saved IDB funds through retention of private counsel.

However, we reiterate that an indigent capital defendant has no recognized right to two attorneys and in some cases may not desire a second appointed counsel. In such a case, it would be unjust to require a defendant to accept appointed counsel along with his retained counsel. Because there is no right to second counsel, because a defendant may oppose the appointment, and because other unforeseen reasons may weigh against appointment of second counsel, such an appointment is left to the discretion of the trial court.

In the subsequent case of State v. Koon, 96-1208 (La. 5/20/97), 704 So.2d 756 , cert. denied, 522 U.S. 1001 , 118 S.Ct. 570 , 139 L.Ed.2d 410 (1997), the defendant claimed he was denied the assistance of co-counsel to which he was entitled under Rule XXXI. Like the instant defendant, the Koon defendant became unhappy with his public defender early on, and the trial court appointed a solo practitioner as lead counsel, and the lead defense counsel recruited a second attorney who later abandoned the case, leaving Koon with only his original defense counsel to try the case. Koon, 96-1208 at pp. 20-21, 704 So.2d at 769 . The Koon defendant waived a second defense counsel, and this court affirmed his conviction and death sentence, noting that Rule XXXI “does not give rise to an affirmative right to multiple attorneys in capital trials.” Koon, 96-1208 at p. 21, 704 So.2d at 769 . The court found that Koon had waived the right to co-counsel after discussion with his original defense counsel and advisement by the judge. Id.

Koon’s subsequent counseled post-conviction application, raising ineffective assistance of trial counsel, based in part on the absence of a second trial counsel, was denied, and this court denied certiorari. State ex rel. Koon v. State, 3-93-1268 (19th J.D.C. 3/21/00), writ denied, 00-1205 (La. 1/26/01), 781 So.2d 1258 . However, over a decade after his capital trial, Koon’s conviction for three counts of first degree murder and his death sentence were vacat *580 ed on federal habeas review for ineffective assistance of counsel. In granting Koon’s petition for writ of habeas corpus, the federal district court observed that Koon’s private counsel |B2rendered ineffective assistance in four respects; the most egregious omission was that defense counsel failed to interview and investigate the only-known witness to the crime. Koon v. Cain, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 97113 , *26-30 (M.D. La. Feb. 1, 2007), The federal court also relied on the fact that defense counsel: (1) presented a mental-health/status defense at trial, yet only hired his chief expert witness on the issue one day before trial; (2) failed to use the assistance of co-counsel; and (3) failed to adequately prepare Koon for testimony at trial. Koon v. Cain, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 97112 *2 (M.D. La. Apr. 11, 2007). The Koon court found that counsel’s decision to proceed to trial alone without the aid of at least one other attorney was part of the basis of its ruling, observing that “although an ‘affirmative right' to two attorneys may not exist in Louisiana, defense counsel’s refusal to be assisted by competent co-counsel cap factor into the ineffective assistance analysis.” Koon v. Cain, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 97113 at *31-32. The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court’s ruling. Koon v. Cain, 277 Fed.Appx. 381 (5th Cir. 2008).

Importantly, the federal- district court granted habeas relief in Koon v. Cain on February 1, 2007, some seven months before the Louisiana Public Defender Act of 2007 became effective, and over three years before the Capital Defense Guidelines (La. Admin. Code, Title 22, Section 901 ¿t seq.j were promulgated in May 2010, as discussed hereinafter. The statutory enactments, LSA-R.S. 15:141-184, and Capital Defense Guidelines became effective after Koon v. Cain and suggest that Koon may be distinguishable from the instant case, given those statutes and guidelines place the ongoing responsibility for filling out the defense team on the state public defender, which was not the statutory landscape when Koon v. Cain was decided.

Notably, Koon v. Cain presented a case of ineffective assistance of counsel, decided under the principles announced in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 , 104 S.Ct. 2052 , 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984). By appellate counsel’s choice, he specifically has not raised a claim of ineffectiveness of counsel in this direct appeal, and thus, such a claim is not before the court.

In the present case, at the hearing on the motion for new trial, John Di Giulio of the Louisiana Public Defender Board (“LPDB”), formerly the Louisiana Indigent Defense Assistance Board (“LI-DAB”), was called as a witness. Mr. Di Giulio testified that Randall Fish’s objection, on behalf of the local public defender’s office, to being appointed alongside retained counsel (Mr. English) was inconsistent with the Capital Defense Guidelines, enacted in May 2010, approximately one year before the defendant’s capital trial.

Mr. Di Giulio explained that under the Capital Defense Guidelines, the district public defender or the state office is responsible for supplying the additional resources to bring the defense team into compliance with the guidelines, even for a capital defendant with retained or pro bono counsel. He stated that the minimum compliance for capital defense is two counsel, at least one of whom is certified as a capital defense qualified lead counsel. Mr. Di Giulio testified that his office provides supervision of capital trial counsel, receives monthly reports of every capital trial in the state, and contracts with a number of non-profit corporations to provide indigent capital defense. Mr. Di Giulio testified specifically that Randall Fish, in *581 objecting to the local public defender’s office being appointed as co-counsel to serve alongside Mr. English, expressed a position inconsistent with the guidelines and, thus, was not accurate. According to Mr. Di Giulio, the notion expressed by the trial judge in this case—that co-counsel would have to be appointed from the local public defender’s office—seemed to be the understanding of the parties at the time, but it was not the only option. Mr. Di Giulio posited that, in a case such as the present one—when the local public defender’s office had been involved and then removed— it would have been more | (-^appropriate to contact the LPDB office, which could have appointed one of its contract program attorneys, who do trial level work all over the state, to assist in the case. Mr. Di Giulio suggested that, even in a case in which the defendant has a private attorney, the Capital Defense Guidelines would still apply to remedy a deficiency if a determination of indigency has been made. Mr. Di Giulio indicated that, in a situation in which the public defender’s office has “an inability to get along with the defendant,” the state public defender’s office could appoint one of their 501(c) attorneys to either assist or replace trial counsel.

Of particular interest to the instant case is § 905(B)(1) of the Capital Defense Guidelines, which states, “The district public defender, regional director and state public defender are to be independent of the judiciary and they, not the judiciary or elected officials, shall select lawyers for specific cases.” 22 La. Admin. Code, Part XV, § 905(B)(1). Also, the guidelines require “the district public defender, regional director or state public defender, as appropriate, [to] be responsible for supplementing existing services available to the defendant to meet the requirements of this Section.” 22 La. Admin. Code, Part XV, § 913(C)(2). In addition, 22 La. Admin. Code, Part XV, § 905(D)(1) states, “In any circumstance in which the performance of a duty under this Section would result in a conflict of interest, the relevant duty should be performed by the state public defender, a defender organization or independent authority free of a conflict of interest and identified for this purpose in the Capital Representation Plan.” Further, the guidelines provide that “[cjounsel shall not be assigned to a defendant who indicates that he does not wish to receive public defender services.” 22 La. Admin. Code, Part XV, § 911(C)(4). Thus, as these provisions and the testimony of LPDB witness John Di Giulio affirmed, if the instant defendant were entitled to conflict counsel, the starting point would necessarily be via referral by the district public defender to the LPDB regional director and/or the state public defender. The 1 ^February 3, 2011 colloquy shows the difficulty the parties had in explaining that reality to the defendant because he vehemently rejected anything involving the “public defender.”

Based on the absence of trial co-counsel, the defendant’s appellate counsel urges that the defendant should be granted a new trial as to both the guilt and penalty phases of trial. The State maintains no new trial is warranted, arguing during the hearing on the motion for new trial, “[I]t’s real convenient now to come back and say, well, we’ve got all [these] problems, the ones that are all protected by attorney-client privilege so there’s no way anybody could have known that but they were such of big magnitude that I was effectively denied my right to a lawyer, so that’s where we are.”

The record presented in this case demonstrates that the defendant could not have been more resolute in declaring that the appointment of co-counsel through the public defender’s office was unacceptable to him.

*582 The trial court clearly informed the defendant that a second co-counsel would be appointed “through the public defender’s office”; this statement was in compliance with the Capital Defense Guidelines, which, as stated above, directs in § 905(B)(1) that the district public defender, regional director, and state public defender, not the judiciary or elected officials, select lawyers for specific cases and, when there is a conflict of interest, § 911(C)(4) directs that the state public defender, a defender organization or independent authority free of a conflict of interest must undertake the indigent defense. Implicit in the delivery of indigent defense organizational structure is that a claim of conflict is evaluated within the public defender hierarchy by “the appropriate non-conflicted authority,” as stated in § 911(E)(1), and, if a conflict is found, the case is referred to an attorney hired by the LPDB for conflict-free representation.

Notwithstanding, the defendant in this case steadfastly persisted in rejecting | wany participation of the “public defender” in his defense, stating at the February 3, 2011 hearing on the issue that he did not need “the assistance of the public defender board” and that he had “no confidence in the public defender board.”

This court has previously indicated that a trial court would be “unjust” in compelling a defendant to accept a second indigent defender along with his retained counsel, when he has expressed opposition to such, in State v. Jones, 97-2593 at p. 6, 707 So.2d at 978 (“[I]n some cases [a defendant] may not desire a second appointed counsel. In such a case, it would be unjust to require a defendant to accept appointed counsel along with his retained counsel.”). Moreover, the decision of whether or not to appoint counsel to an indigent defendant is reviewed under the abuse of discretion standard. Id. (“Because there is no right to second counsel, because a defendant may oppose the appointment, and because other unforeseen reasons may weigh against appointment of second counsel, such an appointment is left to the discretion of the trial court.”).

Under the particular facts and circumstances of this case, we find no abuse of discretion in the trial court’s failure to appoint a second trial counsel, and there is no merit in this assignment of error.

Motion to Suppress

In his ninth assignment of error, the defendant contends that the trial court erred in refusing to grant his pro se motion to suppress the pretrial statement given by his friend and neighbor, Gayle Bernard Houston, because the statement was coerced. This handwritten motion was entitled “Motion to Suppress Evidence & Motion for Acquittal/Dismissal” and was filed in the trial court by the defendant on April 8, 2009. The motion stated, in pertinent part:

State of Louisiana—Detectives of Bossier City Police ... violated said suspects Spartacus McCoy; Carlos McCoy; and neighbor Gale Houston’s 6th Amendment right to counsel by interrogating them without their lawyer present and/or forcing/pressuring them to make a false confession ....

I * * * 167

... Gale Houston stated: “He only did and said what was told of him”, “so he too wouldn’t be incarcerated.” Law states: “that no suspect should be forced; threatened; co-hearsed [sic]; and coached to make any statement in which they do not want to make ...” “Violation of 5th Amendment right and numerous civil rights by law enforcement officials ... Suspect was also intoxicated.”

*583 On July 21, 2009 the trial judge ruled on the defendant’s motion in pertinent part as follows:

First, this Court will address Petitioner’s “Motion to Suppress Evidence.” Petitioner fails to adhere to the time limitations provided for such a motion in Arts. 703 and 521 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Such a motion should be filed within 15 days after arraignment. Petitioner has not done so. Petitioner was arraigned on June 17, 2008 and Petitioner’s “Motion to Suppress” was filed on April 8, 2009. While the court has such discretion to allow an untimely “Motion to Suppress,” the burden of proof is on the defendant to prove the ground of his motion, which he has not done so in this case. Therefore, for the foregoing reasons, Petitioner’s Motion to Suppress is DENIED.

The defendant faults the trial court for setting a series of new filing deadlines for motions to be filed even after it denied the defendant’s pro se filing as untimely, noting that the trial court set motions to be heard up to December 28, 2010, and the defendant’s trial did not commence until July 28, 2011, some two years after the defendant’s motion to suppress was denied as untimely. Counsel suggests that the judge’s denial was “arbitrary and unfairly targeted [defendant’s] pro se filings.”

Importantly, LSA-C.Cr.P. art. 17 vests in the trial court “all powers necessary for the exercise of its jurisdiction and the enforcement of its lawful orders .... It has the duty to require that criminal proceedings shall be conducted with dignity and in an orderly and expeditious manner and to so control the proceedings that justice is done.” Further, LSA-C.Cr.P. art. 521(A) provides: “Pretrial motions shall be made or filed within fifteen days after arraignment, unless a different time is provided by law or fixed by the court at arraignment upon | ffla showing of good cause why fifteen days is inadequate.” In addition, LSA-C.Cr.P. art. 703(C) governs motions to suppress evidence and provides:

A motion filed under the provisions of this Article must be filed in accordance with Article 521, unless opportunity therefor did not exist or neither the defendant nor his counsel was aware of the existence of the evidence or the ground of the motion, or unless the failure to file the motion was otherwise excusable. The court in its discretion may permit the filing of a motion to suppress at any time before or during the trial.

The purpose of these rules is to prevent interruption of trials, avoid the effort and expense of useless trials, and to protect juries from exposure to inadmissible evidence. State v. Taylor, 363 So.2d 699, 702 (La. 1978).

In the present case, the defendant filed numerous pro se motions and subpoena requests and also initiated disciplinary complaints against Mr. English. The district attorney asserted that the defendant’s actions were “meant to harass and unduly delay this matter.” The attorneys who represented the defendant actively sought to curtail his pro se filings. At every opportunity, Mr. English advised the trial court that he did not adopt the defendant’s motions or subpoena requests. When Mr. English first enrolled as counsel, he expressed optimism in representing the defendant: “Based upon our conversations, I’m confident that he will rely on my counsel and allow me to be the counsel in this case. We had a very candid conversation about this. That I would be the only voice from this day forward speaking for Mr. McCoy.” That optimism faded over the intervening months, and trial counsel’s frustration was palpable at the hearing on *584 January 4, 2011 because the defense was not speaking with one voice:

MR. ENGLISH: I believe also, Your Honor, there was a Motion to Suppress Evidence that Mr. McCoy had filed and I’m looking at a ruling here and I don’t see a date on it, but indicated that the Court would set a new date to hear his Motion to Suppress the Weapon, the Illegal Tape Recording, Confidential Communication without Accused’s Knowledge and Consent, and a Coerced Confessions and State Dispositions. I have talked to Mr. McCoy. I ... told him that I don’t believe that this motion has any value in this particular case and that it would be a waste of resources given what the evidence is. He |mhas agreed and so we’re not going to argue that motion either, Your Honor.

THE COURT: All right, and that motion will be withdrawn at this time ....

In State v. Bodley, 894 So.2d 584, 593 (La. 1981), this court confronted a similar situation and reasoned that “[w]hile an indigent defendant has a right to counsel as well as the opposite right to represent himself, he has no constitutional right to be both represented and representative.” The instant case is an example of a defendant who sought to be both represented and representative.

Notwithstanding, although Gayle Bernard Houston testified as a State witness, the pre-trial statement of Mr. Houston was not admitted into evidence; however, it was used to refresh his memory. Mr. Houston testified that he was a childhood friend of the defendant and he had known the defendant all of his life. Mr. Houston related to the jury that on the night of May 5, 2008, he and his brother picked up the defendant and his brother, Spartacus McCoy (who was deceased by the time of trial), in downtown Shreveport. Mr. Houston further testified that he and his brother went to pick the defendant up because the defendant’s brother had sounded upset so they “decided to see what was going on.” Mr. Houston disclosed that when the defendant got into his car “he was just quiet and—and then eventually he just said, you know, he ‘F’d’ up and we was all trying to figure out what—what you done ‘F’d’ up.” Mr. Houston repeated several times in his testimony that the defendant “looked normal” to him.

On further questioning by the district attorney, Mr. Houston seemed hesitant to repeat the entirety of the defendant’s statements made on that date and, when asked about whether he had given a statement to police, Mr. Houston acknowledged that he had given a statement to Detective Brian Griffith on May 8, 2008. Referring to the transcript of that statement, Mr. Houston agreed that his memory was refreshed, and he was able to give additional details about the events |7nof that evening. See LSA-C.E. art. 612(B) (“In a criminal case, any writing, recording, or object may be used by a witness to refresh his memory while testifying.”).

Referencing Mr. Houston’s statement to Detective Griffith, the district attorney asked Mr. Houston what he told the detective in relation to the defendant saying he “F’d up,” to which Mr. Houston replied, “I said he done shot three people.” The district attorney then read aloud from the statement in formulating his next questions to Houston, as reflected in the following colloquy:

[DISTRICT ATTORNEY:]

[A]round in the middle of that page you said, “He wouldn’t explain why or he— he just wouldn’t explain nothing. He just said that he shot three people. I done F’d up. I’m not going back to jail, Gayle.” That’s you right?

[MR. HOUSTON:] Yes.

*585 [DISTRICT ATTORNEY:] “Robert, you need to turn yourself in.” “I’m not going back to jail.” Do you remember him saying that to you?

‡ ⅜ ‡

[MR. HOUSTON:] Now, you know, like I said, when I’m doing my statement, you know, I—I been drinking and I could have everything backwards.

Mr. Houston also stated that he could only say for sure that the defendant stated that he “F’d up.” Mr. Houston explained that he could have heard the other statements, which he reported to police as having been made by the defendant,. from other people, instead of directly from the defendant.

Thereafter, Mr. English cross-examined Mr. Houston, quoting verbatim from his statement, asking, “After reading this statement do you still say Robert was acting normal or was he crying that night?” Mr. Houston again responded that the defendant was “acting normal.” The following colloquy ensued:

[MR. ENGLISH:] ... On a direct question from [the district attorney], you stated that Mr. McCoy was acting normal, correct?

[MR. HOUSTON:] Yes.

_Jjj[MR. ENGLISH:] But in your statement to the police you told him he was crying, correct?

[MR. HOUSTON:] Yes.

[MR. ENGLISH:] Which one was it? [MR. HOUSTON:] Crying.

Mr. English then propounded a line of inquiry submitted by the defendant;

[MR. ENGLISH:] Now, did you lie to the Bossier—What you said in this statement, now, even though you don’t remember it, did you lie to the police department?

[MR. HOUSTON:] No.

[MR. ENGLISH:] .... Mr. McCoy wants to know did you tell his father-that the detectives had coached you and you made all of this up? ...

[MR. HOUSTON:] No.

[MR. ENGLISH:] Okay. Mr. Houston, you indicated, that you were drinking, correct? , ⅛

[MR. HOUSTON:] Yes./

[MR. ENGLISH:] And the—the—This is a legitimate question. The fact that you were drinking, would that have clouded your recollection in any way of what Mr. McCoy, did or .did not- do?

[MR. HOUSTON:] No-.... *

In support of this assignment of error, the defendant.cites this court’s decision in State ex rel. Johnson v. Maggio, 440 So.2d 1336, 1337 (La. 1983) (per curiam), for the proposition that a pro se petitioner “is not to be denied access to the courts for review of his case on the merits by the overzealous application of form and pleading requirements or hyper-technical interpretations of court rules.” State ex rel. Johnson involved appellate review of :a habeas corpus proceeding following the pro se applicant’s conviction for criminal mischief, which was in contrast to the instant proceeding wherein - the defendant attempted, to act both pro se and via trial counsel.

Under the instant ■ circumstances, we conclude that any error of the trial court l7ain denying the defendant’s pro se motion to suppress the statement of Gayle Houston was harmless since the written statement was not introduced into evidence, but rather was used only to refresh the memory of Gayle Houston during his trial testimony, pursuant to LSA-C.E. art; 612(B), and since there was no contemporaneous objection made to the use of the statement at trial. We expressly note that defense counsel also used the statement to refresh the witness’s memory on cross-examina *586 tion. Furthermore, there was no motion by either the district attorney or defense counsel to introduce any part of the statement into evidence. This assignment of error fails on the merits.

Voir Dire

In the defendant’s tenth assignment of error, he argues that the State’s exercise of peremptory challenges as to prospective jurors was based on race, in violation of the U.S. and Louisiana Constitutions, as well as LSA-C.Cr.P. art. 795(C) (“No peremptory challenge made by the state or the defendant shall be based solely upon the race or gender of the juror.”), necessitating a new trial.

The discriminatory use of peremptory challenges by a prosecutor to exclude potential jurors based solely on race has long been considered a constitutional violation. Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 84-85 , 106 S.Ct. 1712, 1716-17 , 90 L.Ed.2d 69 (1986); Swain v. Alabama, 380 U.S. 202, 203-04 , 85 S.Ct. 824, 826-27 , 13 L.Ed.2d 759 (1965). The Batson court outlined a three-step process for a trial court to use in evaluating a claim that a peremptory challenge was based on race. Snyder v. Louisiana, 552 U.S. 472, 476 , 128 S.Ct. 1203, 1207 , 170 L.Ed.2d 175 (2008); State v. Nelson, 10-1724, p. 9 (La. 3/13/12), 85 So.3d 21, 28 . Under Batson and its progeny, the opponent of a peremptory strike must first establish a prima facie case of purposeful discrimination. State v. Nelson, 10-1724 at p. 9, 85 So.3d at 28-29 . Second, if a prima facie showing is made, the burden shifts to the State to articulate a race neutral explanation for the challenge. Id., 10-1724 at p. 9, 85 So.3d at 29 . Third, the trial court then must determine if the opponent of the strike has carried the ultimate burden of proving purposeful discrimination. Id. (citing Batson, 476 U.S. at 98 , 106 S.Ct. at 1724 ).

This final step involves evaluating “the persuasiveness of the justification” proffered by the striking party, but “the ultimate burden of persuasion regarding racial motivation rests with, and never shifts from, the opponent of the strike.” State v. Nelson, 10-1724 at p. 15, 85 So.3d at 32 (quoting Purkett v. Elem, 514 U.S. 765, 768 , 115 S.Ct. 1769, 1771 , 131 L.Ed.2d 834 (1995) (per curiam)). Unless a discriminatory intent is inherent in the prosecutor’s explanation, the reason offered will be deemed race neutral. Purkett v. Elem, 514 U.S. at 768 , 115 S.Ct. at 1771 ; Hernandez, 500 U.S. at 359, 111 S.Ct. at 1866.

Since the trial judge’s factual findings in the context of evaluating discriminatory intent largely turn on evaluation of credibility, a reviewing court ordinarily should give those findings great deference. Hernandez v. New York, 500 U.S. 352, 364 , 111 S.Ct. 1859, 1869 , 114 L.Ed.2d 395 (1991); Batson, 476 U.S. at 98, n. 21 , 106 S.Ct. at 1724, n. 21. A trial court’s ruling on the issue of discriminatory intent must be sustained unless it is clearly erroneous. Snyder v. Louisiana, 552 U.S. at 477, 128 S.Ct. at 1207. Where there are two permissible views of the evidence, the factfinder’s choice between them cannot be clearly erroneous. Hernandez v. New York, 500 U.S. at 369 , 111 S.Ct. at 1871 .

In the instant case, following a Wither-spoon 41 qualification, ninety-four prospective jurors remained in the venire, and those prospective jurors were further divided into panels of seven prospective jurors, each, for general voir dire questioning. The parties questioned eight full *587 panels and two prospective jurors from the ninth panel to complete jury selection of twelve jurors and two alternate |74jurors. Of those fifty-eight prospective jurors, ten appear to have been African-American: Ms. Curry, Ms. Venus, Ms. Eason, Ms. Thomas, Mr. Burks, Mr. Mitchell, Mr. Burrell, Mr. Landry, Mr. Small, and Ms. McWashington. According to the defendant, the jury was composed of eleven Caucasian jurors and one African-American juror, and the two alternate jurors were Caucasian.

Three Batson challenges were made by the defense, respecting peremptory strikes made by the State as to prospective jurors Ms. Curry, Mr. Landry, and Ms. McWash-ington. The defendant now contends that, in denying these challenges, the trial court relied on incorrect factual bases, failed to assess the credibility of the State’s proffered race neutral reasons in light of disparate treatment of similarly-situated white jurors and other evidence of discriminatory intent, and failed to “have regard for” the State’s strike of the “jointly struck juror, Ms. Venus.”

During voir dire in this ease, the first peremptory strike against an African-American, Ms. Curry, was made upon completion of questioning of the first panel of prospective jurors. Afterward, following the questioning of the second and third panels, the State and‘the defense both exercised a peremptory back-strike to remove first panel prospective juror Ms. Venus, making her the second African-American removed by a peremptory strike (the two other African-Americans previously removed were removed “for cause,” not peremptorily).

After the back-strike of Ms. Venus, the defense raised its first Batson claim. The defense urged that there had been a clear pattern of striking African-American jurors by the State. The district attorney responded that Ms. Venus could not be considered as part of a pattern of racially discriminatory strikes when the defense also submitted a peremptory strike against her. Mr. English, in essence, asserted that, because Ms. Venus was a “strongly pro-death penalty” juror, she favored the prosecution, such that the only reason the district attorney could have had for striking her was the fact that she was African-American. Mr. English also ^conceded that he was not seeking to have Ms. Venus returned to the jury venire; however, the State’s strike of Ms. Venus, as the second peremptory strike of an African-American in the trial, gave him a basis upon which to contend that there was a pattern of racially discriminatory strikes and that the previously-stricken African-American, Ms. Curry, should be returned to the jury veni-re. The trial judge reviewed the voir dire up to that point and did not perceive a pattern of discriminatory strikes on the State’s part; thus, the trial judge did not require the State to make a race neutral articulation at that time. Nevertheless, the district attorney volunteered that the contents of Ms. Curry’s juror questionnaire “are clear as to the reason she was struck.”

The fourth and fifth panels of prospective jurors were questioned together and, of those fourteen prospective jurors, three were African-American—Mr. Burks, Mr. Burrell, and Mr. Mitchell. At the conclusion of questioning, the State challenged Mr. Burks for cause, based on his opposition to the death penalty, which the trial court granted without objection by the defense. The State then submitted a challenge for cause as to Mr. Burrell, based on his personal knowledge of the case and of the victims, and the defense did not enter a formal objection. Mr. Mitchell was selected from these panels to serve as the only African-American juror in this case.

*588 Following the examination of the seventh panel of prospective jurors, the State exercised its twelfth peremptory challenge to. excuse Mr. Landry, and the defense then urged its second Batson claim. Mr. English, urged, “I believe that there’s a clear pattern of [the district attorney] striking African-Americans from this jury. I think that Ms. Curry should be brought back in and should be placed back on this jury, Judge.”- The- trial judge then noted that'there had been three African-American jurors peremptorily struck, at that point, stating:

Ms. Curry was the first—She was a black female that was struck. |TCMs. Venus, however, was struck by both Mr. English and Mr. Marvin at the same time .... And I will take note of that. I will state that there is a black male [Mr. Landry] that was finally struck by Mr. Marvin. I will let Mr. Marvin: state any race-neutral reasons that he has and I will- take those into consideration ....

Before the district attorney began articulating his neutral reasons for his peremptory challenges, he argued that Ms. Venus should not-be considered as part of a pattern of racial discrimination, for purposes of evaluating the Batson challenge, given that both sides struck her, stating, “The remedy of Batson is to put the person back, on the jury, okay. Do you want her back?” Mr. English responded that, while he did not seek to reseat Ms. Venus, he thought that both Ms. Curry and Mr. Landry should be placed back on the jury.

; The district attorney offered as his reason for peremptorily striking Ms. Curry, her responses on the juror questionnaire, which established that she yras “personally, morally, or religiously opposed to the death penalty and will always vote to impose life sentence.” The trial court accepted the State’s reasons for striking Ms. Curry as race neutral and denied the Bat-son claim as to her. As for Mr. Landry, the district attorney pointed to the fact that Mr. Landry did not answer most of the multiple questions on his juror questionnaire pertaining to the death penalty, that the death penalty sections were the only sections in the juror questionnaire that Mr. Landry did not fill out, and that Mr. Landry’s failure to fill out the death penalty sections of the juror questionnaire indicated that he must have had “some kind of reservation about the death penalty.” Mr. English countered that he thought Mr. Landry’s statements during voir dire were so strongly in favor of the death penalty that he had Mr. Landry on his list to strike because “he would not be favorable to my side.” The trial court ruled that the district attorney had stated “a race-neutral reason” and denied the Batson claim over the objection of the defense.

At the conclusion of the examination of the seventh panel of prospective (77jurors, twelve jurors had been selected and placed under the rule of sequestration. An eighth panel of prospective jurors was then brought in for the selection of the alternate jurors; in that panel were two African-Americans, Mr. Small and Ms. McWashington. The defense challenged Mr. Small for cause because he had been a high school classmate of Gregory Col-ston’s, and the challenge for cause was granted by the trial court.

Thereafter, the State peremptorily struck Ms. McWashington, -and the defense then made its third Batson claim. As a race neutral reason for his peremptory challenge, the district attorney pointed to Ms. McWashington’s statement that Officer Richard McGee had been pastor of her church for the preceding four or five years.

The district Attorney further stated:

Richard McGee is in these police reports. He is the man that Mr. English’s client has accused of having an affair *589 with his wife that provoked all this. I’m not going to let one of his parishioners sit on this jury .... If I’m not mistaken, one of the subpoenas that we’ve been arguing about weeks before was to Mr. McGee.

The district attorney further noted that Ms. McWashington had indicated that if Richard McGee were called to the stand as a witness, “she would tend to believe him” because “[h]e’s her pastor.” The trial court found that the State had articulated a race neutral reason under Batson, and excused Ms. McWashington over defense objection.

Whether peremptorily striking three African-American jurors in the present case constitutes a prima facie pattern of discriminatory strikes is a question that becomes moot after the State provides race neutral reasons, pursuant to Hernandez v. New York, 500 U.S. at 359 , 111 S.Ct. at 1866 (“Once a prosecutor has offered a race neutral explanation for the peremptory challenges and the trial court has ruled on the ultimate question of intentional discrimination, the preliminary issue of whether the defendant had made a pri-ma facie showing becomes moot.”). A trial judge may therefore effectively collapse the first two |7Sstages of Batson and rule on the question of discriminatory intent without deciding the question of whether the defendant established a prima facie case of purposeful discrimination. See State v. Nelson, 10-1724 at p. 10, 85 So.3d at 29 .

On appeal, the defendant concedes that Ms. Curry’s strong aversion to capital punishment was a legitimate basis for the State to peremptorily strike Ms. Curry. We find no merit in the defendant’s assertion that, when considered in context with the other State peremptory challenges, which he claims were race-based, the trial court erred in failing to grant the Batson challenge as to Ms. Curry. As shown here-inbelow, all of the peremptory challenges exercised by the State at trial arose from legitimate race neutral considerations.

During the Witherspoon voir dire, Ms. Curry declared unequivocally that “I am not for the death penalty .... I could consider it but I would always lean toward life.” We conclude that the State’s peremptory strike of Ms. Curry was justified given her pro-life sentence stance, and the trial court’s ruling upholding the State’s strike is supported by precedent. See State v. Williams, 96-1023, p. 33 (La. 1/21/98), 708 So.2d 703, 727 (holding that the State’s articulated reason for striking a prospective juror because she appeared “weak ... on the death penalty” was accepted as a race neutral reason) (quoting United States v. Bentley-Smith, 2 F.3d 1368, 1375 (5th Cir. 1993) (“The reason certainly is stronger if the attorney is able to articulate an objective fact, such as that the juror was slow in answering questions or had to have questions repeated .... [but] the judge is free, based upon all the information presented and that judge’s eyewitness observation of counsel, to conclude that the reason is offered in good faith and not as a subterfuge for race.”)). In this case, looking at the whole of Ms Curry’s voir dire testimony, no racial animus was apparent in the making of this peremptory challenge. See Miller-El v. Dretke, 545 U.S. 231, 262 , 125 S.Ct. 2317, 2332 , 162 L.Ed.2d 196 (2005) (wherein the Supreme Court considered “[t]he whole of the voir dire [ 79testimony” to evaluate the prosecution’s reasons for striking the juror at issue).

Further, the defendant’s argument on appeal, that the State’s peremptory challenge of Ms. Venus should be considered when evaluating the State’s peremptory challenge of Ms. Curry, ignores the clear directives of LSA-C.Cr.P. art. 795(D) to the contrary, given that the *590 defense simultaneously challenged the same juror. Although Paragraph (C) of Article 795 authorizes the trial court to demand a race neutral reason for the exercise of a peremptory challenge, unless the court is satisfied that such reason is apparent from the voir dire examination of the juror, Paragraph (D) of Article 795 provides that the “provisions of Paragraph C and this Paragraph shall not' apply when both the state and the defense have exercised a challenge against the same juror.” Because Ms. Venus was peremptorily challenged by both the State and the defense, the trial court was not required to order the articulation of race neutral reasons, pursuant to LSA-C.Cr.P. art. 795(D), and we find no Batson violation apparent in the peremptory strike of Ms. Venus.

As to the Batson claim made after the peremptory challenge of Mr. Landry, the defendant argues that, when the district attorney in this case was concerned that the failure of Mr. Landry to answer juror questionnaire death penalty questions suggested his ambivalence about the death penalty, he should have asked additional questions about the matter and his failure to do so was an indication that the State’s articulation of this reason in support of his peremptory strike against Mr. Landry was pretextual. On this point, the defense cites Miller-El v. Dretke, wherein the Supreme Court similarly reasoned, when a perceived conflict in a juror’s position arose, “[W]e expect the prosecutor would have cleared up any misunderstanding by asking further questions before getting to the point of exercising a strike.” Miller-El v. Dretke, 545 U.S. at 244 , 125 S.Ct. at 2327 . The defense also cites State v. Harris, 01-0408, p. 8 (La. 6/21/02), 820 So.2d 471, 476 , and State v. Collier, 553 So.2d 815 , 822 n.11 (La. 1989), which recognized that the failure of a prosecutor to question, or questioning in only a cursory manner, a prospective juror who is challenged on the basis of a. claimed bias raises a strong inference that the juror was excluded on the basis of race alone. Notwithstanding, we note that Miller-El v. Dretke further directs:

[T]he rule in Batson provides an opportunity to the prosecutor to give the reason for striking the juror, and it requires the judge to assess the plausibility of that reason in light of all evidence with a bearing on it. It is true that peremptories are often the subjects of instinct, and it can sometimes be hard to say what the reason is. But when illegitimate grounds like race are in issue, a prosecutor simply has got to state his reasons as best he can and stand or fall on the plausibility of the reasons he gives.

Miller-El v. Dretke, 545 U.S. at 251-52 , 125 S.Ct. at 2331-32 (citations omitted). Indeed, in Miller-El v. Dretke, the Supreme Court noted that “we read [the juror’s] voir dire testimony in its entirety.” Id., 545 U.S. at 247 , 125 S.Ct. at 2329.

Turning to Mr. Landry’s voir dire, “in its entirety,” we conclude that the record supports the articulated reasons for the district attorney’s exclusion of him. Mr. Landry’s responses in the Witherspoon round, at the very least, lacked clarity and potentially demonstrated an inconsistency in his thought process. Mr. Landry’s response to questioning by the district attorney presented a somewhat confused opinion about the death penalty:

[DISTRICT ATTORNEY]: Tell me your views on the death penalty?

MR LANDRY: I’d say give them life in prison.

⅜ ⅜ ‡

[DISTRICT ATTORNEY]: Okay. Did I take that to mean you’re opposed to the death penalty?

*591 MR. LANDRY: I would like to know what really he done to put him life in prison. Well put him in there, you know? [DISTRICT ATTORNEY]: I’m having a little difficulty hearing] you.

This text is long and has been trimmed here. Open the source document for the complete record.