In an unusual twist, a defendant in Warren County court Friday was surprised that his counsel was not present.

It is not unusual for counsel to say they expected their client to be in court.

During sentence court proceedings on Friday, Tyson McVey, facing charges including DUI, approached the stand when his name was called.

Usually, an attorney joins the defendant at that point.

When no attorney showed up, Judge Gregory Hammond asked McVey about it.

McVey said his attorney is Ed Nicholson and that they had spoken earlier and both were aware of the court date. Court documents list Edward Nicholson of Murrysville as McVey’s attorney.

McVey told Hammond that he was “ok” with proceeding without representation.

“I don’t want you to be just ‘ok’ with it,” Hammond said.

“Did you reach an agreement that he wouldn’t appear today?” Hammond asked.

McVey said Nicholson had told him “there was nothing he could do.”

Hammond found that statement unacceptable and listed several things that a criminal defense attorney could do for a client at the time of sentencing, including checking for mistakes in the information and speaking on behalf of the client.

Hammond did not hold McVey’s sentencing, continuing it until a future date, and said Nicholson would have to formally withdraw as counsel before he would allow McVey to represent himself at sentencing.