A Cobb County woman and her alleged cohorts, indicted last year for racketeering on charges they stole million-dollar homes in four counties, will be allowed to represent themselves in court, a judge decided Friday.
Susan Loraine Weidman, the alleged leader of the scheme, then argued her first motion, to dismiss the charges against her, contending her actions amounted to a victimless crime.
“There is no injured party,” Weidman told DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Tangela Barrie. “There’s no proof of loss.”
The indictment, handed down in October in Superior Court, alleges that Weidman, Ian Greye, Giulio Greye and Matthew Lowery conspired to seize vacant, foreclosed homes and keep the banks that owned the homes at bay. Of the four, only Weidman is out on bond.
Using the language of the so-called Sovereign Citizen movement -- which maintains its members are akin to sovereign states and therefore have immunity from federal, state and local laws -- each declined the right to legal representation for motions hearings Friday.
“I am a sovereign American citizen,” Ian Greye told Barrie as she tried to assess his fitness to serve as his own legal counsel.
Though none of the defendants have formal legal training, each claimed that by being represented by an attorney, they subjected themselves to being treated the way a corporation would be treated in court.
“I am here on special appearance,” said Lowery, clad in orange DeKalb County jumpsuit as he responded to Barrie’s list of questions to determine if he could represent himself. “I am a human being. I will not be tricked in any way into becoming a corporate entity.”
As the hearing to determine eligibility for self-representation continued, Giulio Greye acknowledged Barrie’s assertion that researching the case or conducting any pertinent investigation would be difficult from inside a jail.
“My ability to defend myself will absolutely be impaired because I’m incarcerated,” he said. “And that’s not fair.”
Yet each scoffed at the judge's admonition to them that “defending oneself is almost always considered unwise.”
“I understand that is a popular myth,” Weidman said.
Or at the judge's question whether they could do as well as a licensed and trained litigator.
“That’s an arbitrary question,” Giulio Greye said. “I believe I can do as adequate a job as an attorney.”
For the three jailed suspects, the judge provided them with copies of the indictment and time to read it so that she was sure they had all the information they needed to answer her question: “Do you understand all the charges that are being brought against you?”
She also asked, “Do you specifically give up your right to have an attorney?”
That question gave the suspects pause.
“Wait, wait, wait,” Weidman stammered. “I want to reserve my right to get an attorney.”
“I reserve all my rights at this point,” Lowery said.
Ian Greye and Giulio Greye both asked to be able to seek private representation at some point in the future, but to be allowed to represent themselves Friday in separate motions to dismiss charges.
Barrie allowed each of the defendants to represent themselves, adding the stipulation that each be assigned a “back-up counsel” to assist them and to step in should the defendants decide to abandon the attempts to defend themselves.
“The court is not going to stop the progress of the trial if you change your mind,” she said.
As for Weidman’s motion to dismiss her charges, Barrie denied it.
Weidman was, however, able to win an amendment to her bond conditions, allowing her to leave Cobb County for doctor’s appointments and to visit legal libraries to research her case.
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