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SALT LAKE CITY — Indicted St. George businessman Jeremy Johnson wants a new lawyer for his federal fraud trial scheduled to start in a month: himself.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul Warner reluctantly gave Johnson the go-ahead Wednesday to act as his own attorney in the complicated criminal case but allowed him the weekend to reconsider.
The judge did everything in his power to dissuade Johnson from dumping his defense attorneys, including calling the decision "stupid," "ill-considered" and "foolish."
"I really, really think this is a huge mistake on your part," Warner said. "It's such a bad idea on so many levels, it's almost inconceivable that you would want to continue on this course."
I really, really think this is a huge mistake on your part.
–Judge Paul Warner
A subdued Johnson sounded as if his mind was made up, saying at one point, "Judge, I really have put a good deal of thought into this."
Johnson, Bryce Payne, Ryan Riddle and Scott Leavitt face dozens of fraud charges in connection with Johnson's now defunct multimillion dollar Internet marketing company, iWorks. They're accused of setting up shell companies to process consumer credit and debit cards when other accounts were closed by credit card issuers because of a large number of chargebacks.
U.S. District Judge David Nuffer will oversee the four-week trial scheduled to start Feb. 1.
Johnson tried twice before to represent himself, and Rebecca Skordas and Greg Skordas are his third set of attorneys since he was charged in 2011.
Johnson told the judge he believes Rebecca Skordas has a conflict of interest because she briefly represented a potential witness in the case. He said his defense would be "severely limited" because of that.
Warner, who said he hand-picked the Skordases to represent Johnson after his previous lawyers withdrew six months ago, earlier found there is no conflict and said he was "baffled" by Johnson's thinking.
"You're going to let that be the reason to jettison two fine attorneys?" the judge said.
Assistant U.S. attorney Michael Kennedy said the prosecution doesn't intend to use the witness at trial.
Warner went through a litany of questions about the law. Johnson admitted he knows "very little" about the rules of evidence and procedure, selecting a jury and opening statements and closing arguments.
Warner offered to appoint Greg Skordas as "standby" counsel to advise Johnson but Johnson balked at that. Johnson said he would be more comfortable with another lawyer, even a less experienced one.
The judge said if Johnson represents himself, no one else would plan his defense or try the case. The conviction rate in federal court is "extremely" high, and even higher for defendants who act as their own attorneys, Warner said.
Johnson has said he knows the case better than his attorneys. Warner said that might be true, but "you are attempting to perform your own surgery," which he called "folly."
Kennedy said prosecutors would seek up to 21 years in federal prison if a jury finds Johnson guilty.
Nevada case
Johnson already serves as his own lawyer in a parallel Federal Trade Commission case against him in Nevada. The two-week trial there was to begin this month, but a federal judge this week pushed it back to March 28.
Johnson is also a key witness in the state criminal cases against former Utah Attorneys General John Swallow and Mark Shurtleff. Nuffer has barred the defendants, attorneys and witnesses from mentioning the Swallow and Shurtleff prosecutions during Johnson's federal trial.
