DC Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman requested a homicide defendant waive his right to a new attorney in a hearing on April 14 in order to expedite the proceedings.
Joshua Franklin, 40, is charged with first-degree murder while armed, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and unlawful possession of a firearm with a prior crime of violence. These charges stem from his alleged involvement in the fatal shooting of 27-year-old Andrew Session on Jan. 21, 2021 on the 4400 block of 3rd Street, SE. Session sustained 12 gunshot wounds.
All of Franklin’s charges face an aggravating factor of allegedly being committed during his release for a prior offense.
According to court documents, the Public Defender Service (PDS) represented Franklin for the last four years, with four different PDS attorneys.
In a hearing on March 20, Judge Edelman received a note from Franklin requesting a trial delay to obtain new counsel, and reject plea negotiations. However, At the end of that hearing, parties concluded that Franklin wanted to withdraw his request and proceed with his current attorneys.
At the current hearing, Judge Edelman expressed his concern with Emma Mlyniec’s representing Franklin because of “past non-effective representation” from PDS. Mlyniec was co-counsel under former defense attorney Joseph Yarbough before he resigned from PDS without providing “proper advice,” to Franklin, said the judge.
Judge Edelman requested that Franklin have an informal or handwritten waiver, meaning that he would like to proceed with his current representation at a trial, and not request a new attorney later in the case.
Parties are slated to reconvene on May 6.
