A US court postponed till tomorrow the sentencing of Vikram Buddhi, who is in prison for posting hate messages against George W Bush.
A US court today postponed till tomorrow the sentencing of IIT alumnus Vikram Buddhi, who has been in prison since 2006 for posting hate messages against the then President George W Bush.
Senior Judge James T Moody postponed the sentencing till tomorrow after seven hours hearing, saying there are certain other legal issues that need to be addressed.
38-year-old Phd student of Purdue University, Buddhi fired his lawyer and represented himself during the hearing.
Buddhi appeared in an Indiana court near here and said he wants to fire his lawyer Arlington Foley and would "involuntarily represent himself".
Literally fighting his own battle, Buddhi said Foley "did not discuss the case properly with him but only touched upon some issues superficially. He also did not discuss with me what he is going to present in court and did not do any meaningful research".
Foley was the second attorney appointed for Buddhi in June 2009 after he removed his first lawyer. Foley, however, said "in my opinion we have discussed the case".
The indictment alleged that Buddhi made threats against the then US president, Vice President Dick Cheney and their wives, and called for bombings of US infrastructure.
Buddhi, wearing an orange prison jumpsuit and shackled at the legs, informed the court that he could never reach his lawyer over phone and had left a message with Foley's secretary that he did not want him to be his lawyer any more.
The Judge ordered that the sentencing would go an as scheduled and Buddhi had a choice to either represent himself, with Foley as his stand-by counsel, or agree to Foley remaining his lawyer.
After arguing with the Judge, Buddhi said he does not have a choice and is "being forced to be my own lawyer".
During the hearing, a presentence report was presented that contained information about Buddhi's family and educational background as well as charges against him, his arrest record, including any prior or pending cases, evidence.
The report, prepared by the Probation Department, helps in determining whether the convicted person's sentence should be shortened or increased in case there is a history of criminal behaviour.
Buddhi argued that he was not given the report earlier and so was not prepared to defend himself from what was in the report. However, the prosecutor said the presentence report was given to Buddhi's previous lawyer a year ago.
The prosecution produced three witnesses, including an official from Purdue University's police department and a computer forensic examiner from the Secret Service, who spoke about Buddhi's "argumentative and anti-social behaviour" and how he had once threatened one of his roommates with a knife.
The witnesses also referred to sexual offences filed against Buddhi by a couple of female students. The prosecution also played a 911 call made by Buddhi's father who said that "his son is hitting him and threatening he will kill me".
Buddhi was staying in the custody of his father when he was released on bond during his trial.
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