Just days before his trial is scheduled to begin, Ryan Bundy has asked a judge to get rid of his standby counsel and dismiss the government's case against him.
In the latest series of court filings from the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge occupier, Bundy writes that he remains committed to representing himself in court.
At the same time, he says he’s been unable to create a defense for himself because he lacks access to critical documents.
Bundy writes that standby counsel Lisa Ludwig was “thrust upon Defendant by the government, without the right of interview, contract, or competence test. Defendant was denied his right to represent himself through standby counsel and to file his own motions and his right to find his own assistance which is competent to help him prepare a defense.”
Bundy also asked U.S. District Court Judge Anna Brown for a 30-day extension to file pretrial motions because he hasn’t been able to view what he describes as the “United States Attorney’s file.”
Bundy and defendant Kenneth Medenbach nearly lost the ability to represent themselves in court after repeatedly violating court orders.
In court this week, Bundy reluctantly assured Brown.
“I will abide by the court’s rulings as long as the court rulings are in abidance of the law,” he said.
In an unrelated filing late this week, the Utah-based attorneys for Ammon Bundy, Ryan's brother, take issue with Assistant U.S. Attorney Ethan Knight’s assertion that the court has jurisdiction over the case because it involves federal charges.
Attorney Marcus Mumford compared Knight’s response to that of a “first-year law student” and recites what he calls a “memorable exchange” from "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre ."
That scene includes Humphrey Bogart’s character saying, “If you are the police, where are your badges?” Alfonso Bedoya responds, “Badges? We ain’t got no badges. We don’t need no badges. I don’t have to show you any stinking badges!”
“The government’s response says, essentially, we don’t need to prove no stinking subject matter jurisdiction,” Mumford writes.
Jury selection for the case of the Bundy brothers and six other occupiers is set to begin Wednesday.
Copyright 2016 Oregon Public Broadcasting
