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Thursday, August 8, 2013 – Daily News 5B Lawyer: Hasan intent on getting death sentence FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) — On the first day Maj. Nidal Hasan went on trial for his life, he claimed responsibility for the 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood. He posed no questions to most witnesses. He said the alleged murder weapon was his, even though no one asked. The Army psychiatrist sometimes took notes while acting as his own attorney, but he mostly looked forward impassively and rarely asked for help as witness after witness said he was the shooter. By Wednesday, the lawyers ordered to help him said they had had enough — they couldn't watch him fulfill a death wish. ''It becomes clear his goal is to remove impediments or obstacles to the death penalty and is working toward a death penalty,'' his lead standby attorney, Lt. Col. Kris Poppe, told the judge. That strategy, he argued, ''is repugnant to defense counsel and contrary to our professional obligations.'' Poppe said he and the other standby lawyers want to take over the case, or if Hasan is allowed to continue on his own, they want their roles minimized so that Hasan couldn't ask them for help with a strategy they oppose. Hasan repeatedly objected, telling the judge: ''That's a twist of the facts.'' The exchange prompted the judge, Col. Tara Osborn, to halt the longdelayed trial on only its second day. She must now decide what to do next, knowing that all moves she makes will be scrutinized by a military justice system that has overturned most soldiers' death sentences in the last three decades. Hasan faces a possible death sentence if convicted of the 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated for the attack on the Texas military post. ''I don't envy her. She's on the horns of a dilemma here,'' said Richard Rosen, a law professor at Texas Tech University and former military prosecutor who attended the first two days of trial. ''I think whatever she does is potentially dangerous, at least from the view of an appellate court.'' Rosen and other experts said that if Osborn allows Poppe and Hasan's other standby defense attorneys to take over, the judge could be seen as having unfairly denied Hasan's right to defend himself, a right guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. But if she lets Hasan continue defending himself, she could be depriving him of adequate help from experienced attorneys. He also noted that it's extremely rare for defen- Courtesy photo In this courtroom sketch, military prosecutor Col. Steve Henricks, right, speaks as Nidal Malik Hasan, center, and presiding judge Col. Tara Osborn look on during Hasan's court-martial Tuesday, Aug. 6, in Forth Hood, Texas. Hasan is representing himself against charges of murder and attempted murder for the 2009 attack that left 13 people dead at Forth Hood. dants to represent themselves in military court. ''They don't want this case to be reversed on appeal,'' Rosen said. ''The worst thing that can happen would be to retry the case all over again.'' Giving Poppe a more active role in the case or having him take over the defense could enable Hasan to argue he was denied his right to defend himself, added Victor Hansen, another former military prosecutor who teaches at the New Eng- land School of Law. ''At the end of the day, the defendant has the absolute right who's going to represent him, including deciding to represent himself,'' Hansen said Wednesday. Hasan asked questions of just two witnesses during the first day of trial on Tuesday, and he delivered an opening statement that lasted barely a minute. Hasan rarely looked at Poppe or another standby attorney, Maj. Joseph Marcee, though the two lawyers occasionally whispered among themselves. An expected confrontation between Hasan and a key witness, retired Staff Sgt. Alonzo Lunsford — whom Hasan shot seven times — never materialized. Hasan declined to cross-examine him. He even offered to stipulate that a handgun passed around the courtroom was his, only to be told by Osborn that prosecutors must agree beforehand. On Wednesday, Osborn paused for nearly a half-minute after Hasan objected to Poppe's assertions about his defense strategy. The judge said she wanted Hasan to explain his objections in writing, but Hasan declined. But she did not immediately accept Poppe's arguments, either. When Poppe noted that Hasan didn't object to any jurors during jury selection, Osborn suggested that Hasan could simply be following a different strategy to ensure he'd have more jurors, knowing that only one juror has to vote against a death sentence for him to be spared. ''A lot of people would think that's a brilliant strategy,'' Osborn told Poppe. There were likely objections Poppe may have raised, and the lawyer may have asked more questions, Rosen said. However, Hasan declining to cross-examine most witnesses — especially victims who survived the shooting — wasn't necessarily a bad move, Rosen said. ''I'm not sure ... what he could have done to impugn their testimony without ticking the jury off even more,'' Rosen said. The trial is scheduled to resume Thursday morning. Osborn did not say when she would decide on the motion. Friend: Suspected Calif abductor had crush on girl LAKESIDE (AP) — A man suspected of abducting a 16-year-old girl told her he had a crush on her and would date her if they were the same age, a friend of the girl said Wednesday as police searched for the man who is also wanted in the death of the girl's mother and possibly her 8-year-old brother. Marissa Chavez, 15, said James Lee DiMaggio explained that he didn't want the girls to think he was weird in an effort to defend himself after noticing they exchanged glances. She said he spoke while driving them home from a high school gymnastics meet a couple months ago. Hannah Anderson asked Chavez to join her from then on whenever DiMaggio, 40, drove her to meets. ''She was a little creeped out by it. She didn't want to be alone with him,'' Chavez said. DiMaggio was like an uncle to Hannah and 8year-old Ethan. He was very close with their par- ents for years. On Sunday night, authorities found the body of 42-year-old Christina Anderson when they extinguished flames at DiMaggio's rural home. A child's body was found as they sifted through rubble in Boulevard, a tiny town 65 miles east of San Diego on the U.S.-Mexico border. The child's body has not been identified but it may be Ethan, sheriff's Lt. Glenn Giannantonio said late Tuesday. Christina Anderson's father, Christopher Saincome, said Wednesday that his daughter visited DiMaggio's home last weekend to say goodbye before he moved to Texas. DiMaggio, who works as a telecommunications technician at The Scripps Research Institute in San Diego, was a regular presence at the Anderson family apartment in Lakeside, a suburb of 54,000 people. ''He must have had this planned,'' Saincome said. Saincome said nothing seemed amiss when he called his daughter at work Friday to let her know she didn't call on his birthday. Anderson, a medical assistant, said she would call back that night but never did. Investigators say DiMaggio may be headed to Texas or Canada with one child or both. They had no evidence that the relationship between DiMaggio and the missing girl was more than friendly. ''We're not looking into that directly at this point,'' Giannantonio said. Chavez, who spoke at a candlelight vigil for Hannah on Tuesday night, said DiMaggio argued with her friend when he took her to Hollywood in late June or early July for her birthday. DiMaggio was upset that Hannah was ''paying more attention to posting pictures (on her phone) than talking to him.'' ''He got upset and ended the trip early,'' Chavez said. Brett Anderson, who flew from Tennessee to San Diego on Tuesday, pleaded with DiMaggio to release his daughter, saying, ''You've taken everything else.'' ''Jim, I can't fathom what you were thinking. AUTO ROUTES DRIVERS WANTED RED BLUFF & CORNING AREAS Must be 21 or older & bondable. Call or apply in person Circulation Dept. 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