Fordham University law professor James Cohen says Joseph Duncan isn’t helping his chances in court – where he faces a possible death penalty – by his courtroom tactics today, in which he took over juror questioning from his standby attorneys, then refused to ask any questions. “The defendant is saying, ‘I’m not going to ask any questions,’ sort of, ‘do with me what you will,’” Cohen said. “That, in the context of this case, is very unlikely to result in a good outcome, if you define as a good outcome keeping this guy alive.” Cohen added, “It’s very odd, it continues to get sort of odder by the moment. Duncan seems hell-bent on making himself the poster child for the death penalty in terms of this phase. He’s already done that by his conduct and by his guilty plea.”

Here's a link to my full story on today's events, and here's one to the 9th Circuit appeal filed today by The Spokesman-Review seeking to keep the court proceedings open.

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