Day #5: U.S. v. Jim Bell report from federal court in Tacoma

[Declan McCullagh]

[note from an attorney, anonymized]

Declan,

I read your report of Day #5, shaking my head at the turn of events. Mr.
Bell may be bright, he may have a mission, he may have a cause, he may
have a point, but he is an excellent example of why one does not
represent oneself in a trial.

His attorney is between a rock and a hard place. Judge Tanner won't let
him off the hook, and Bell won't let him do his job. Bell is doing a
stunning job of giving the jury a reason to convict, and Judge Tanner
keeps reeling out the rope so Bell can hang himself.

It's sad. Bell is obviously disturbed. Is he insane? I don't know. But
he exhibits no judgment whatsover in his defense, and he will pay a high price.

I appreciate your coverage of the trial. My experience as a trial lawyer
was you could count on the police and the newspaper to get the names
correct, sometimes, and the newspaper to report only the most charged
testimony or facts.

Neither Mr. Bell nor I look forward to the outcome of his case. It's
likely to be bad.