Josh Waring, son of former Real Housewives of Orange County star Lauri Peterson will again represent himself in his attempted-murder case after alleging during a court hearing Tuesday that he can't be sure of the confidentiality of phone calls between him and his former defense attorney.
Waring dismissed his attorney, Joel Garson, during the hearing and asked Orange County Superior Court Judge Jonathan Fish if he could represent himself because he suspects his phone calls from jail, including those to his attorney, are being recorded, reports Los Angeles Times.
The request came about a month after Fish ruled that Orange County Jail personnel may not monitor any legal phone calls between Waring and Garson or read Waring's legal mail. Waring alleged Tuesday that county sheriff's deputies have ignored that order.
"I can't call [Garson] anymore because I have a suspicion they are recording my phone calls."
Fish granted Waring's request Tuesday but warned him that prosecutors who have decades of legal experience would likely overmatch him as the case progresses to trial, reports the publication.
"I'm astounded," Fish said. "You're starting to tread into some deep and difficult waters."
As we previously reported, Garson requested in January that Fish dismiss the charges against Waring on the basis that law enforcement inappropriately monitored and recorded Waring's phone calls in jail while he was representing himself for about a month in 2016 and after he sought help from an attorney.
He said information gleaned from the calls was provided to prosecutors. The calls should have been confidential, Garson said.
Garson has said Waring was being recorded from June 25, 2016, to at least Feb. 8, 2017.
"These actions by the prosecution team constitute outrageous government conduct," Garson wrote in his January motion.
Garson has claimed the recordings were done in violation of a Superior Court order that granted Waring "unmonitored collect phone calls." That provision is standard for defendants' conversations with their attorneys and for those representing themselves.
But Deputy District Attorney John Maxfield has said Waring was required to request unmonitored calls if he wanted them.
"By not requesting access to those calls, he has no one to blame but himself for the recording of these phone conversations," Maxfield wrote. "The Sheriff's Department is not a mind reader."
In the past several months, Garson and prosecutors have questioned various witnesses — including JOsh's parents, Lauri Peterson and her ex-husband, Phillip Waring, Joshua's father — during several hearings to determine whether Joshua's rights were violated.
Fish has not ruled on Garson's motion to dismiss the charges. Waring and prosecutors are expected to appear in court next month to question additional witnesses in the matter, reports Los Angeles Times.
As previously reported, Waring is facing three counts of attempted murder and other felony and misdemeanor charges in connection with a shooting that injured a man at a former sober-living home on Babb Street in Costa Mesa in June 2016. Waring, who has pleaded not guilty to all charges, could face multiple life prison sentences if convicted.
Transcript courtesy via Los Angeles Times
Photo Credit: Costa Mesa Police Department, Mitchell Haaseth/Bravo
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