California judge says Duncan can act as own attorney
Convicted killer accused in 1987 death of 10-year-old boy
Tue., Sept. 22, 2009
Joseph Duncan will be allowed to act as his own attorney in a trial in which he faces the death penalty if convicted of the 1997 slaying of a 10-year-old Beaumont, Calif., boy, an Indio judge ruled Monday.
Duncan can make his own decisions in sorting through more than 30,000 pages of evidence in the death of Anthony Martinez.
Judge David B. Downing granted Duncan’s request, temporarily appointing his Riverside County public defenders as standby council.
Duncan told the court that he does not plan to plead guilty or file motions on his own behalf while acting in his own defense.
“I will sit back and let you guys run the whole show,” Duncan said. “I will ask to be allowed to remain silent.”
To continue reading this story, please visit www.pe.com.
Local journalism is essential.
Give directly to The Spokesman-Review's Northwest Passages community forums series -- which helps to offset the costs of several reporter and editor positions at the newspaper -- by using the easy options below. Gifts processed in this system are not tax deductible, but are predominately used to help meet the local financial requirements needed to receive national matching-grant funds.
Subscribe to the Coronavirus newsletter
Get the day’s latest Coronavirus news delivered to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletter.
Subscribe and log in to the Spokesman-Review to read and comment on this story
