Court Denies Defendant’s Request for New Court Appointed Attorney

A virtual status conference was held in Fourth Judicial District Court Thursday for Marie Franks of Sheridan, who is charged with Felony Child Abuse for an alleged incident that occurred on June 19 of last year at a residence in Sheridan. Sheridan Media’s Ron Richter has the details.

A request made by Franks for a new court appointed attorney was denied by the Court, as District Court Judge John Fenn said the information provided by Franks was not adequate enough to warrant a new public defender. Franks during the hearing, stated that she felt Anna Malmberg, her court appointed attorney, was not representing her properly, as she said Malmberg did not provide any type of strategy for her defense, and she felt as though her attorney was not taking her seriously.

Judge Fenn told Franks that she had three options; move forward with her current court appointed attorney; represent herself, or hire an attorney to represent her. Judge Fenn told Franks that she must meet with Malmberg by February 10 to see if they can work through the issues. The three-day jury trial is scheduled to begin on Monday, March 8. A pretrial conference will take place February 18 at 10:30. The charge of Felony Child Abuse is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.