Lennie Perry, who sex trafficked teenage girls between ages 13 and 17 from 2012 to 2017, was indicted in 2018 on eight counts of sex trafficking minors. Over the next three years, Perry systematically refused to cooperate with five different court-appointed lawyers, filed persistent pro se motions that violated protective orders, and twice invoked his right to represent himself after comprehensive Faretta hearings. When the trial finally began and Perry struggled with cross-examining witnesses, he changed his mind again and requested counsel.
Judge Leinenweber summarily denied the request, and the Seventh Circuit affirmed his decision. As Judge Sykes explained, 'When a defendant repeatedly refuses to cooperate with appointed counsel, the court may decline to appoint a new attorney. And once a defendant validly waives his right to counsel after a full Faretta hearing, the court may hold him to his decision.' The court emphasized that Perry had been explicitly warned this was 'the end of the line' and that 'a sixth attorney would not be appointed.'
The Seventh Circuit delivered particularly sharp language about Perry's conduct throughout the proceedings: 'Perry cycled through five court-appointed lawyers and knowingly and voluntarily waived his right to counsel—not once but twice. The judge was not required to reassess the matter when Perry changed his mind again after the trial began.' Judge Sykes noted that Perry's pattern included 'insistence on pursuing baseless claims of prosecutorial misconduct, racial bias, and corruption' and persistent violations of protective orders against contacting victims and witnesses.
The case began when Attorney Darryl Goldberg was appointed to represent Perry, but Perry soon began filing pro se motions. After Goldberg and co-counsel Christopher Grohman moved to withdraw, Judge Leinenweber conducted the first Faretta hearing and allowed Perry to represent himself with James Graham as standby counsel. Perry then requested Graham as his attorney, resumed filing pro se motions, and the cycle repeated through attorneys Keri Ambrosio and John Legutki. Before Perry's second waiver of counsel, Judge Leinenweber warned him directly: 'I'll appoint one more attorney for you, and that's it.'
On appeal, Perry argued that the judge should have conducted a 'Faretta-lite' inquiry to assess his motives for changing his mind and the probable duration of delay. The Seventh Circuit rejected this argument, with Judge Sykes writing: 'No authority mandates that step... Nothing in our caselaw requires a 'Faretta-lite' inquiry in this situation—a mandatory colloquy to consider the defendant's motives and weigh the length of the delay—and we see no basis to impose such a requirement.'
The court provided an alternative rationale for the denial, emphasizing that 'a district judge may deny a defendant's request for new counsel when he has driven off or fired all his prior attorneys.' Judge Sykes noted that 'The Sixth Amendment does not entitle a defendant to an endless succession of appointed counsel,' citing established Seventh Circuit precedent that courts need not 'appoint a new lawyer each time the defendant requests one.'
Judge Leinenweber died before sentencing, and the case was reassigned to U.S. District Judge Edmond E. Chang, who sentenced Perry to 480 months in prison. Perry was ultimately represented by his seventh attorney, Andrew Finke, for the appeal. The Seventh Circuit noted that Perry continued his pattern of numerous pro se filings even on appeal, which the court disregarded.
The ruling reinforces district courts' broad discretion to manage disruptive defendants who refuse to cooperate with counsel. For practitioners, the decision clarifies that once a defendant has validly waived counsel after proper Faretta colloquies, courts may summarily deny subsequent requests for new attorneys without conducting additional inquiries into the defendant's motives or potential delays.