Whether a court must ascertain that a defendant-appellant's decision to abandon a criminal appeal is knowing and intelligent

QUESTION PRESENTED Petitioner was convicted of escape from a halfway house and was sentenced in 2019 to 41 months in prison. He personally signed a pro se notice of appeal, and his form request to the Court of Appeals to proceed in forma pauperis contained the standard language, “I believe my appeal has merit.” Shortly after appointed counsel filed an opening brief, the Court of Appeals received a letter from petitioner, stating, “I do not wish to appeal my case!” Thereafter petitioner refused all mail from the court and from counsel, and refused to come out of his cell for a pre-arranged telephone call with counsel. The Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal. These circumstances present the question: Is it proper for an appellate court to dismiss an appeal in a criminal case without first ascertaining whether the defendant-appellant understands the advantages of his appeal and the disadvantages of dismissing it, and without first ascertaining that his decision to abandon the appeal—if that is what his letter intended—is knowing and intelligent? i