The Briefing Room
General Category => National/Breaking News => Topic started by: mystery-ak on October 04, 2022, 01:12:53 am
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October 3, 2022 2:32pm EDT
Darrell Brooks trial: Defendant disrupts court as jury selection begins in Waukesha Christmas parade attack
Waukesha District Attorney Sue Opper suggested a deputy place Darrell Brooks in a gag after numerous outbursts
By Michael Ruiz | Fox News
Waukesha Christmas parade attack suspect Darrell Brooks was placed in a separate room Monday as the court attempted to begin the jury selection process in a trial over his alleged November rampage that killed six and injured dozens of innocent revelers.
Brooks, now 40, allegedly plowed an SUV through a procession down Main Street in Waukesha last November, fatally striking six and injuring dozens more. He asked to represent himself last week.
The judge ordered him removed from the court multiple times during the proceedings, in which Brooks complained about paperwork, claimed he didn’t recognize his own name and claimed to be a "sovereign citizen" not subject to the court’s jurisdiction, according to FOX 6 Milwaukee.
After another outburst, Judge Jennifer R. Dorow warned that she would hold Brooks in contempt of court, and eventually Waukesha District Attorney Sue Opper suggested a deputy place Brooks in a gag, according to the station.
"Obviously, this guy clearly has issues, and now you’re throwing sovereign citizen issues on top of it. There’s really no way that we’re going to see a typical jury trial," Neama Rahmani, a Los Angeles-based former federal prosecutor following the case, told Fox News Digital on Monday.
And Brooks’ antics could provide him with ammunition for a future appeal, Rahmani added.
"It’s really going to be hard to try him in absentia because he’s representing himself," he said. "It creates an appellate issue, an unnecessary appellate issue. He has a right to be present, but obviously he doesn’t have a right to act the way that he is."
Dorow last week found Brooks fit to stand trial and allowed him to waive his right to have an attorney and represent himself — but Monday’s fiasco could lead to Brooks, at least temporarily, being deemed incompetent, as happened in the case against Idaho "cult mom" Lori Vallow, whose trial saw months of delays as she underwent mental health treatment, Rahmani said. "Ultimately, her competency was restored. That’s something that may be in issue here."
(https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2022/10/1862/1046/8.png?ve=1&tl=1)
Darrell Brooks looks up during jury selection as he appears via video from an adjacent courtroom due to him continually interrupting Judge Jennifer Dorow in a Waukesha County Circuit Court during jury selection in Waukesha on Monday, Oct. 3, 2022. Brooks, who is representing himself during the trial, is charged with driving into the Waukesha Christmas Parade last year killing six people and injuring dozens more. He faces six counts of first-degree intentional homicide and 71 other counts. (Pool via Mike De Sisti / The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
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https://www.foxnews.com/us/darrell-brooks-trial-defendant-disrupts-court-as-jury-selection-begins-in-waukesha-christmas-parade-attack
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Can someone explain why he is being allowed to represent himself?
Isn't there some sort of minimum stand as far as legal knowledge and decorum?
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Can someone explain why he is being allowed to represent himself?
Isn't there some sort of minimum stand as far as legal knowledge and decorum?
I don't think he should be allowed to represent himself, clearly he is attempting to get a mistrial or make the jury believe he is mentally incompetent with these shenanigans. Save the money, have him shot while attempting to escape while all the surveillance cameras were down...that would be my story.
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Judge Jennifer R. Dorow is about to lose control?