The alleged Waukesha parade killer, Darrell Brooks, who is accused of killing six people and injuring dozens of others, delays jury selection during the first day of trial with bizarre antics.
The suspect drove his SUV through a Christmas parade in Wisconsin last year, resulting in him facing six counts of homicide and dozens of additional felonies. Authorities scheduled the suspect's trial to begin on Monday with the selection of the jurors.
Waukesha Parade Killer Trial
Brooks is defending himself in court and, during the selection of jurors, became so disruptive, he forced Judge Jennifer Dorow to take multiple recesses before finally forcing Brooks to watch the proceedings via video from a different room, as per WBAY.
The 40-year-old suspect also said that he did not recognize Judge Dorow as a judge nor did he recognize the state of Wisconsin. At one point, Brooks could be seen leaning his arms on the table with his suit jacket pulled up over his head.
If convicted of any of the homicide charges, Brooks could be given up to life imprisonment. Every time that the suspect was brought back after disrupting the court, he kept acting out, asking Dorow to state her name and questioning the court's jurisdiction.
According to the New York Post, due to Brooks' disruptions, Judge Dorow called 10 recesses and threatened to appoint the suspect an attorney. The suspect's behavior was not unexpected, as in August, during a pretrial hearing, he was escorted out of the courtroom for his behavior. In the latest trial, Dorow told Brooks to "stop playing games" as he laughed in court.
Originally, Brooks pleaded not guilty due to mental disorder but pulled back that plea in September and last week convinced Dorow to let him represent himself despite his bizarre antics.
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Suspect's Bizarre Antics
In court documents, Judge Dorow said that roughly 340 prospective jurors could be called before 16 individuals are finally chosen. Out of the 16, 12 would determine a verdict while the remaining four would sit as alternates. A Los Angeles-based former federal prosecutor following the case, Neama Rahmani, said that Brooks obviously has some issues.
He said that with topics of sovereign citizens being added to the discussion, there would probably be no way to see a typical jury trial. The legal expert said that the suspect's antics could provide him with tools for a future appeal.
Rahmani said that it would be extremely difficult to try the suspect in absentia because he was representing himself. The legal expert said that the situation creates an appellate issue, which was unnecessary.
Last week, Dorow found Brooks fit to stand trial and allowed the suspect to waive his right to have an attorney and represent himself. However, the suspect's bizarre antics had led him to, at least temporarily, being deemed incompetent.
Brooks wrote a letter where he outlined an 18-step "Demand for Verified Statement of Particulars," where he asked prosecutors to provide a number of details, including the "identity of the alleged defendant" and proof of his citizenship," Fox News reported.
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