Former SLO County mayor candidate (R) will represent herself in election fraud case

Gaea Powell — the former two-time Arroyo Grande mayoral candidate who has been accused of election and voter fraud — will represent herself in court against the fraud charges.

Despite Judge Timothy Covello’s warnings to Powell against defending herself in court last week and again on Monday morning, pointing to her lack of legal background or understanding of court processes, he ultimately granted her request to forgo her right to a court-appointed public defender. Moving forward, Powell will act as her own lawyer.

“You want to exercise your right to have the legal case and court rules explained to you utilizing constitutional law in common language,” Covello said in court. “There is no such right.”

He warned Powell again that without an understanding of the court rules relating to her case, she may be putting herself in “legal jeopardy.” But Powell disagreed.




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