William E. Lehman didn't like the way his trial was going, saying he thought his court-appointed lawyer had "sabotaged" his defense.
So he beat him up.
Lehman, 58, of Chisholm, Minn., who was on trial for assault, had asked the judge for a new attorney. The judge said no.
After everyone returned from a break, Lehman attacked public defender Mark Groettum from behind, locking his arm around his neck and punching him repeatedly in the face.
A chair was knocked over, and both men ended up on the floor.
"Blood was all over Groettum, the counsel table and the floor of the courtroom," according to a court document.
And it all happened in front of the jury, the judge and all the others in the Hibbing courtroom.
Groettum told 6th Judicial District Judge James Florey that ethically he could no longer be Lehman's attorney. Lehman asked for another lawyer, but the judge turned him down. Lehman was forced to represent himself for the rest of the trial.
The Minnesota Court of Appeals on Tuesday agreed with Florey's decision, writing in a published opinion that a defendant gives up his right to a court-appointed lawyer when he beats up the one he has.
"No court can carry on its business in an atmosphere of violence, fear and intimidation," Court of Appeals Judge Francis Connolly wrote for the three-judge panel that included Judges Thomas Kalitowski and David Minge.
"We are aware that forfeiting a defendant's right to court-appointed counsel is an extreme
sanction," Connolly continued. "But the outrageous and manipulative conduct of appellant in this instance justified the district court's decision."The district judge believed the attack was an attempt by Lehman to provoke a mistrial in the case, the appeals court said.
Lehman was punished for his outburst in other ways.
For the remainder of the trial, the judge ordered him shackled and dressed in his orange jail suit. Inmates are normally given the right to wear street clothes during a trial so the jury is not biased by their appearance.
Lehman's appeals attorney, Mark Nyvold of the state public defender's office, declined to comment on the case.
In his brief to the Court of Appeals, Nyvold wrote that Lehman was entitled to a hearing before the court determined he wouldn't get a new lawyer. No such hearing took place.
He also wrote that Lehman had a right to be present when the attorneys and judge were discussing whether he should be shackled and dressed in jail garb.
Whether the right to an attorney can be forfeited appears not to have been considered by a court in Minnesota until Tuesday's ruling, the appeals court said.
The St. Louis County trial, which took place in July 2006, centered on a case in which Lehman was charged with knifing two men during a dispute about their loud music. In his defense, he said he feared the neighbors were scheming to steal money from him.
The incident was one of several in Lehman's long criminal history, which includes assault, armed robbery and an armed escape from custody, according to the criminal complaint in the case.
Despite that history, his attorney, Groettum, said the attack took him by surprise.
Had he ever been beaten up by a client before? "I've never been beaten up by anybody!" he said.
Since beginning his career in 1982, Groettum, 50, has worked part time for the public defender's office and part time on private cases, ranging from family law to bankruptcy to criminal cases. But he hasn't been the victim of violence.
In the Lehman case, Groettum bled profusely from the face and nose and suffered a cut lip and a black eye.
Lehman was convicted and is serving 14 years at the Moose Lake state prison. For the attack on the lawyer, the judge threw in another six months for contempt of court.
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