Kevin Andre Williams was convicted in a bench trial of driving without a driver’s license and received a substantial fine, jail time, and probation. The Court of Appeals found the proceeding fundamentally flawed. Williams had not been adequately informed of the consequences of waiving a jury, representing himself, or defending against charges that changed during the trial. The State also failed to introduce sufficient evidence on a material part of the charge and later attempted to avoid review by arguing that Williams had not perfected the record. The appellate court explained that the State’s power to take liberty carries a corresponding duty to do justice. It held that the combination of inadequate advisements, deficient trial procedure, and evidentiary failure required reversal rather than affirmance on a technical record argument. The court reversed the conviction. The decision did not rest on a finding that every claim raised by Williams was independently meritorious; instead, the court concluded that the trial as conducted could not support the judgment. The chief judge and presiding judge concurred.