'I'm Done': Judge Walks Out of Courtroom in the Middle of Christmas Parade Massacre Suspect's Sentence
A hearing in the case of Darrell Brooks, who is accused of plowing into a Christmas parade last year in Waukesha, Wisconsin, ended with the judge venting her frustrations over what she called “word games” being employed by the accused killer.
The hearing came in response to a motion from Brooks to represent himself. It ended with Waukesha County Judge Jennifer Dorow walking off the bench after giving Brooks a deadline to file official paperwork to remove his public defender attorneys from the case.
Brooks is accused of killing six and wounding dozens in the Nov. 21, 2021, attack.
In a video of part of the hearing posted to YouTube, Dorow had her bailiff hand Brooks some documents. Brooks tried to talk over her.
“Nope. I’m talking, sir,” the judge said. “Listen Mr. Brooks. We are not; we are done here today.”
”I cannot make a finding at the point that you have an understanding of what you’re charged with, the nature of these proceedings,” she said.
“I am not going to get into a debate about whether you’re a sovereign citizen or not, or even whether you have any understanding of how the state is a plaintiff in this case.
“My sole reason for being here today is your motion through your attorneys to consider your request to represent yourself. You have demonstrated through this hearing that you don’t have a basic understanding of some of the things that are going on,” she said.
She said her lack of ability to decide was due in part to “the word games that you are employing.”
“You can roll your eyes all you want sir, I’m done,” she said.
As Brooks continued to speak, Dorow walked away from the bench saying, “this court’s in recess.”
Earlier in the hearing, in which Brooks said he did not “’understand the nature and cause of the charges,” according to WITI-TV.
Brooks told Dorow, “I simply want to represent myself to establish my sovereign citizen.”
During a second reading of the charges against, him, Brooks laughed.
Brooks said he did not understand how the state could be the plaintiff, asking “How could the state be the injured party?”
At one point, according to WISN-TV, after Dorow tried to ascertain if Brooks understood the charges he faces and their possible penalties, he replied, “It’s a lot of numbers.”
Waukesha County District Attorney Sue Opper said she does not care if Brooks represents himself, but does not want the trial delayed any further, according to WISN-TV.
“Any request to adjourn the trial at this late date is untimely and should be denied,” Opper wrote in a filing, adding, “The jury trial date was set on March 11, 2022, over 6 months ago.”
Brooks faces 77 charges, including six counts of first-degree intentional homicide.
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