It's rare for anyone to act as his own lawyer in court, even rarer when it's someone charged with an offense as serious as murder.
However, that's the spectacle that unfolded in Cobb County Superior Court on Monday, when a handcuffed and jail jumpsuit-clad Waseem Daker lugged a crate full of legal documents into the courtroom.
Daker is accused of strangling to death a Cobb County woman in 1995.
For now at least, he is proceeding without legal representation. Superior Court Judge Mary Staley released defense attorney Michael Syrop, whom she had appointed to be "standby counsel" the case, after Daker complained that the lawyer wasn't helping him.
Daker, 33, of Duluth, has no legal training other than knowledge picked up from law books and documents in jail. Prosecutors said he was working at his family's furniture shop prior to his Jan. 15, 2010 arrest. Nevertheless, he has filed more than 90 pretrial motions and is attempting to file a pretrial appeal.
Daker had long been a suspect in the Oct. 23, 1995 death of Karmen Smith, a flight attendant. Smith and her son, Nicholas, who was 5 at the time, were attacked while living in a house owned by a woman that Daker had stalked for more than a year.
Nicholas was stabbed, but survived.
Police arrested Daker after newly submitted DNA evidence linked him to the crime. He is awaiting trial at the Cobb County jail.
Daker's courtroom attire -- a faded orange jumpsuit, waist chain and handcuffs -- contrasted starkly with his professorial demeanor, careful comb-over and bookish glasses. He appeared composed during his oral arguments, occasionally referring to himself in the third person as "the defendant" or in the plural "we."
Daker's unfamiliarity with courtroom procedure immediately caused friction with the judge when he interrupted her at times or tried to argue motions that were not scheduled to be heard that day.
Staley said his arguments were "illogical and backwards."
"You are the one who has been adamant you are going to represent yourself," Staley admonished. "You can do that. I've told you it's fraught with problems. "
Daker said his attempts to prepare for the case have been hampered because he is able to make only collect phone calls from the jail. He also said he does not have access to "sufficient" case law at the jail's law library.
"My hands are tied as far as trying to do everything by the book," Daker told the judge.
Daker originally applied for a free, court-appointed attorney after his arrest. However, the indigent defense council investigated his income and found he made too much money to qualify.
He then retained well-known Atlanta defense attorney Brian Steel. The two men parted ways in April when it became evident they were "diametrically opposed" in terms of their trial strategy, according to consent order filed by Daker.
Syrop was appointed by the judge to be Daker's "standby counsel" when Daker chose to go it alone in August.
Syrop said such arrangements are unique. He had not seen anyone appointed "standby counsel" in more than 20 years of practice. He did not believe the role permitted him to do research or subpoena witnesses.
"I know he's in a tough spot, but he chose to represent himself," Syrop said. "These are the pitfalls."
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