A Johnson County judge agreed Thursday to let accused Jewish Community Center shooter Frazier Glenn Cross Jr. represent himself in court, a decision that could have far-reaching implications as the state pursues its capital case.
Cross, a known anti-Semite who has bragged to the media about killing three people last spring at two Overland Park Jewish sites, has repeatedly told Judge Thomas Kelly Ryan he doesn't trust his lawyers and wants them fired.
Before Thursday, Ryan had ignored Cross' frequent requests. But after District Attorney Stephen Howe pointed out that not allowing Cross to represent himself could be grounds for an appeal, Ryan relented. Still, the judge warned Cross he would be held to the same high standards as attorneys who have the expertise that could help him avoid the death penalty.
"These kinds of cases drive judges crazy," says Robert Dunham, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington, D.C. "They drive judges crazy because the judges don't want the cases to be reversed, and they also want the defendants to get fair trials."
Ryan made his decision after asking Cross dozens of questions to assess his understanding of the situation.
"There are dangers, literally, of representing yourself," Ryan warned Cross.
Cross kept interrupting the judge.
"You're not going to talk me out of representing myself," he told Ryan.
Dunham called it "a terrible situation" for a judge, who has to weigh his instinct that a capital defendant is not capable of providing meaningful representation for himself against the right the U.S. Supreme Court has granted allowing self-representation in some cases.
The court previously found Cross competent to stand trial, but as Dunham points out, the test for legal competency falls short of a full mental health workup.
"That person will say they understand what the judge is saying, but they're going to proceed with self-representation. They're going to fire their lawyer because that person isn't going to do what it is they want done," Dunham says.
Dunham litigated capital cases in Pennsylvania for two decades, mostly at the appellate level, before assuming his current role. He says Cross’ behavior in court – he’s known for outbursts that have almost led to his removal – has raised red flags that could be used to overturn a conviction.
"Is this person really mentally competent to stand trial? Are these kinds of racist outbursts a product of dementia, a product of mental illness?" Dunham says, adding it's impossible to know without a full mental health history on Cross.
Cross' anti-Semitic beliefs date back to at least the 1970s. He was arrested in the 1980s with other Ku Klux Klan leaders and turned state's evidence in a plea deal. He got the name Cross while in the federal witness protection program. His surname before that was Miller, and both names have been used in court.
Dunham says it's not often a defendant will adamantly refuse legal help, but it happens with surprising frequency in capital cases where the defendant is emotionally disturbed.
"If you have someone who has a mentally ill delusion about the way the world works, and his lawyer is not going to run a crazy defense based on that delusion, the person will become very frustrated with their lawyer," Dunham says.
Cross demonstrated his lack of legal knowledge almost immediately when Ryan asked him to respond to a motion his lawyers had filed requesting a change of venue.
The motion called for either a venue study regarding the suitability of Johnson County as a trial location or for further arguments.
"Isn't there such a thing as self-evident?" Cross asked the judge. "The amount of TV and newspaper I've gotten?"
Cross conceded he'd brought some of that attention on himself, arranging interviews with the Kansas City Star and the Associated Press.
Ryan told Cross no, he couldn't argue it was "self-evident" why a change of venue should be granted. Ryan said they would take up the motion at Cross' next court appearance June 10, at which he said he hoped Cross would present a better argument.
"I hate to say I presume anything," Ryan told Cross before asking him a question about juror questionnaires, a thousand of which will be mailed out this summer once the prosecution and the defense hammer out what exactly will be on them.
Ryan instructed the district attorney to send a list of questions to Cross at the Johnson County Jail. He again rejected an earlier request Cross made for a computer but said he could possibly get a typewriter in his jail cell.
The trial is set for mid-August.
