His defense attorneys are quite good and I would hate to see him not get the justice that he deserves below:
The judge may have gotten sick of Muhammed "representing" himself--with the lawyers feeding him questions and telling him what to object to.
His defense attorneys are quite good and I would hate to see him not get the justice that he deserves below:
From The Dallas Morning News ...
Sniper suspect ends stint as his own lawyer09:57 AM CDT on Wednesday, October 22, 2003
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Sniper suspect John Allen Muhammad changed his mind Wednesday and ceased acting as his own lawyer.
Circuit Judge LeRoy F. Millette Jr. informed the jury of Muhammad's decision after a half-hour conference at the judge's bench. Jonathan Shapiro and Peter Greenspun, who had been advising him on standby since his decision Monday, returned to their former roles as his defense lawyers.
Muhammad stunned the judge and even his own attorneys on Monday when he demanded the right to represent himself just as opening arguments were to begin in his death penalty trial.
Prosecutors on Tuesday had complained about Muhammad's self-representation, even asking at one point for the judge to rescind it. They said Muhammad was receiving too much help from Shapiro and Greenspun, whose role as standby counsel was supposed to be limited.
Millette ordered Muhammad to physically distance himself from the two lawyers to minimize communications between them.
Still, Millette had said on Tuesday that Muhammad had been representing himself competently.
On Wednesday, Millette told the jury that Muhammad had made the decision himself to revert to Greenspun and Shapiro as his attorneys.
With Greenspun and Shapiro again serving as counsel Wednesday, Greenspun launched a series of objections during the testimony of Chris Okupski of Trenton, N.J., who sold Muhammad the Chevy Caprice prosecutors believe was the vehicle used in the sniper spree.
Greenspun won many of his objections, something that happened only rarely while Muhammad represented himself.
Muhammad is on trial on murder charges related to the killing of Dean Harold Meyers at a northern Virginia gasoline station during the spree last October that left 10 people dead.
Muhammad's decision to represent himself had created the awkward situation Tuesday as he cross-examined one of his alleged victims, restaurant owner Paul J. LaRuffa of Clinton, Md.
LaRuffa survived a gunshot wound to the chest Sept. 5, 2002, as he closed up his restaurant. He was robbed of $3,600 and a laptop computer, which prosecutors say helped finance the sniper spree the following month. The computer was found in Muhammad's car when he was arrested.
Muhammad began questioning LaRuffa on Tuesday by saying he meant no disrespect and that "I understand how you feel when your life is on the line." Muhammad was admonished for making that statement, which the judge said was gratuitous.
After court, LaRuffa described the cross-examination as surreal.
"It's from the twilight zone," LaRuffa said. "Defendants aren't supposed to question you, and that's what happened."
Online at: http://www.dallasnews.com/latestnews/stories/102203dnnatsniper.99df5.html
