"Do you forfeit your right to counsel when you beat up the lawyer you have?" The Minnesota Court of Appeals has answered that burning question in the affirmative.William Lehman was on trial for multiple felony assault counts, and a public defender was appointed to represent him. After the prosecution rested, Lehman himself rose to ask for a mistrial (denied) and that a different attorney be appointed to represent him (also denied). Lehman's method of asking the court to reconsider its rulings was by "wrapping his arm around [counsel's] neck and punching him repeatedly in the face."
As you might expect, the court recessed (apparently in part to clean up quite a bit of defense counsel's blood). When court reconvened, the jury was instructed to disregard the facts that defense counsel was no longer present, Lehman was now dressed in "jail clothes," and that his arms and legs were shackled.
Maybe it will avert a future beating or two if I mention here that this strategy doesn't work whether it's your lawyer or a juror that you sucker punch. Unsurprisingly, the jury convicted Lehman of all those assault counts.
1 comment:
I had a client once inform me, during our first meeting, that it would be okay if the trial didn't go well because he could just start punching me and get a new trial. I explained that, no, he would end up with the trial continuing while he sat in handcuffs and belly chains, and that his actions would not impress the jury. Having an answer for everything, he replied, "You're fired."
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