Paul and Nancy Alengi made methamphetamine together, police said, and they were arrested together and convicted together. But when they appealed – on identical grounds – the husband’s conviction was upheld while his wife’s was overturned.
The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday stepped in and restored Nancy Alengi’s conviction with a 6-0 ruling, saying both had received a fair trial despite representing themselves without the help of attorneys.
Before their January 2002 trial in Jefferson County, the couple had repeatedly assured the judge they could afford to hire lawyers, and they declined his offer to appoint counsel for them. But when their joint trial rolled around, they acted as their own attorneys.
They were convicted of making and possessing methamphetamine and possessing a deadly weapon while committing drug felonies, and each was sentenced to eight years in prison. They appealed, arguing the judge should have asked them about their finances to determine whether they could afford attorneys.
In Paul Alengi’s case, a three-judge panel of the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that the trial judge had no duty to examine the defendant’s finances. But In Nancy Alengi’s case, a separate three-judge panel ruled, also 2-1, that the judge violated her constitutional right to an attorney.
