Never a dull moment

Like Dangerblond says, The Gwendolyn Moyo trial is going to be a joy to follow.

As one of his reasons for denying Moyo's motion to postpone the trial, Barbier cited her erratic behavior in and out of the courtroom since her arrest a year ago.

He said she protested when an area set up at the federal courthouse for her to do legal research was in a holding cell and "not some kind of hotel suite."

"She attempted to disrobe and then feigned some sort of heart attack, " Barbier said. "She had to be carried out by EMTs. But when they got to the hospital, they checked her out and everything was OK."

Moyo could have had a public defender but has insisted on representing herself, saying she had been "burned" by attorneys in her two federal convictions -- in 1989 on multiple counts of fraud, and in 1990 for using stolen Social Security numbers.

Moyo has undergone a court-ordered psychiatric exam and was deemed competent to make a "knowing and voluntary" decision to represent herself.

She has been assigned a "stand-by" attorney, who can provide procedural tips but cannot give advice on matters deemed strategic. Or, apparently, cosmetic.

Despite Barbier's warning about proper decorum, when Moyo returned to open court at the end of the day for the first time since jury selection began that morning, she again pulled out her compact and spent a few minutes touching up her makeup.