Defendant attacks his own lawyer during trial
A criminal defendant from Neptune attacked his Public Defender during a trial at the Ocean County Superior Court in Toms River on Tuesday. The Defendant, who is facing a multitude of charges including aggravated assault on a police officer and eluding police, smacked his lawyer in the face above his eye during the trial and right in front of the jury. I wouldn't say that this is the best strategy to win over a jury. Then, later in the afternoon, the Defendant, now shackled because of the first outburst, grabbed a microphone from the defense table and threw it at his attorney who blocked the object with his foot. For an image of this throw and the block by this lawyer, please see the Asbury Park Press article entitled, "Defendant attacks his own lawyer twice in court". Even after the Defendant attacked his lawyer twice, the Public Defender gave his summation to the jury and asked them to acquit the defendant on these charges. What a trooper huh? I have to say, it would have been difficult to continue to represent someone who just assaulted me and it also would have been difficult not to retaliate after being smacked in the face by another human being. In any case, thankfully I have never been assaulted by a client during a trial and hopefully never will be.
