Whether K.________ was entitled to ex officio defense counsel under cantonal and constitutional standards.
No. The case involved no particular factual or legal complexity, and the seriousness of the matter did not itself require appointed counsel.
The court applied former cantonal law and Art. 29(3) Federal Constitution, noting that mandatory or discretionary appointment depends on concrete difficulty, procedural complexity, the accused's ability to defend himself, and gravity of the case. Here, the record showed a straightforward dispute about the use of CHF 1,562, and K.________, as company director, was capable of understanding the documents himself.