Accused sniper suspect John Muhammad has ended his stint as his own lawyer and his standby counsel (who are also his original lawyers) have taken over. Smart move by Mr. Muhammad.

His self representation may have helped him in terms of humanizing him before the jury. They at least got a sense of him. Hopefully, it will be harder for them to vote for death now. This Washington Post article explores this theory and asks whether Muhammad's move was calculated to curry favor with the jury.

All in all, we think he stands a way better chance with his lawyers. At least now he can preserve trial errors for appeal. He has excellent counsel and they are right back in the swing of things.

Real time blogging coverage from Virginia Pilot is
here.

Update: So what's the verdict on his two days of self-representation? Not as bad as you would think. Check out "Muhammad Stumbles, but Stars As Own Attorney."