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Prison inmate opts to represent himself in court

A man convicted of a '99 murder is getting a new penalty phase trial.

By MOLLY MOORHEAD
Published July 19, 2006

DADE CITY - In future court hearings, Lawrence Joey Smith, who was convicted of shooting one teen and killing another in 1999, could have an attorney speak for him.

But on Tuesday, the 29-year-old Smith represented himself, arguing his own handwritten legal motions before Circuit Judge Lynn Tepper.

Smith was convicted in 2001 of first-degree murder and attempted murder in a roadside shooting in Land O'Lakes. Prosecutors said he was the trigger-man in a drug deal gone bad. A jury recommended the death penalty.

But the Florida Supreme Court later ruled judicial error in his sentencing and granted him a new penalty phase.

Smith has spent years preparing his case. On Tuesday, he pleaded with Tepper to let him represent himself.

"I have a trial strategy in mind," Smith, dressed in a red prison jumpsuit, told the judge. "I would like to take an active role in arguing my defense."

The judge allowed it, but will ask him at every step whether he wants his private appointed attorney, Keith Hammond, to step in. And she warned Smith that he'll get no special treatment in court.

"You don't get away with asking improper questions," Tepper said. "You would not be given any leeway."

With that, Tepper launched into the list of 30 motions Smith filed leading up to his new penalty phase trial. The defendant, facing off against veteran prosecutor Phil Van Allen, had limited success, winning some motions but losing more.

Hammond, for his part, praised Smith's drive.

"He knows the law, he knows how to conduct himself properly," Hammond said. "He's not playing any games."

Van Allen was less complimentary. "He's trying very hard."

[Last modified July 19, 2006, 07:59:48]