A memorial at Veterans Park for the victims of a deadly Christmas parade crash in Waukesha, Wis. , on Nov. 23, 2021.
AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps, File Man accused of driving his SUV into a Christmas parade last year wants to represent himself in court. Darrell Brooks is accused of killing six people at the Wisconsin event. A judge ended a hearing after he tried to bait her into an argument over the legal process.
Darrell Brooks, a self-proclaimed sovereign citizen accused of killing five people with his SUV at a Wisconsin Christmas parade last year, told a judge on Tuesday that he wanted to represent himself at trial. The hearing, though, was ended after he spent more than an hour trying to bait Waukesha County Judge Jennifer R. Dorow into a argument and showed that he didn’t have a “basic understanding” of the legal process he was trying to invoke.
Prosecutors say on November 23, Brooks plowed a red SUV into marchers in downtown Waukesha, Wisconsin, killing five people instantly and leaving at least 62 more injured. A 6th victim — an 8-year-old boy — died from his injuries. On Tuesday, Brooks told Dorow he hoped to represent himself as a “sovereign citizen.
” The sovereign citizen movement is made up of activists and conspiracy theorists who believe they don’t have to be subjected to any government statutes or proceedings, unless they consent to them. The judge had to ask Brooks questions to assess that he understood his rights to an attorney and what he was giving up by representing himself. Brooks, though, wouldn’t answer Dorow’s yes or no questions without attempting to debate her over the legitimacy of the state of Wisconsin being recognized as the “plaintiff” in the case.
Brooks repeatedly interrupted Dorow when she questioned him on whether he understood the charges brought against him and his rights to an attorney. When Dorow read the charges — 77 counts, six of them for alleged homicide — Brooks laughed. “I’m not going to answer anything until you answer the question about how the state can be a victim,” he later said.
Dorow told Brooks he wouldn’t allow him to “make a mockery” of the process. “I’m not going to get into a debate about whether you’re a sovereign citizen or not, or whether you have any understanding of how the state is a plaintiff in this case,” she said. “My sole reason for being here today is your motion through your attorneys to consider your request to represent yourself.
“Dorow called for a 15 minute break so Brooks could speak with his attorneys in an effort to “move past” his confusion. When the case resumed Brooks continued his argumentative behavior, so Dorow ended the hearing because of the “word games” he was playing with her. “You have demonstrated through this hearing that you don’t have a basic understanding of some of the things that are going on,” she said.
The judge gave Brooks, who has an 11th grade education, until 9 a. m. Wednesday to sign paperwork waiving his right to an attorney.
Read the original article on Insider.
From: insider
URL: https://www.insider.com/man-killing-5-people-christmas-parade-argued-with-judge-2022-9
