Woman says God is her lawyer

[Are_grits_groceries]

NEWTON, N.J., Jan. 5 (UPI) -- A New Jersey judge must decide whether a woman who refuses to work with her lawyers because she believes God will defend her is competent to stand trial.

Estelle Walker, 50, is charged with starving her children while they were living in a lakefront cabin in New Jersey belonging to her church. She faces four counts of child endangerment.

A three-day hearing in Sussex County Superior Court is scheduled to begin Wednesday, The Star-Ledger of Newark reported. The witnesses include two psychiatrists, one for the defense and one for the prosecution.

Judge Peter Conforti asked Walker why she was not cooperating with her lawyers after they reported she would not talk to them.

"God will defend me," she answered.

Walker, a resident of the borough of Brooklyn, N.Y., moved to the cabin on Lake Hopatcong belonging to Times Square Church in 2005 to get away from an allegedly abusive husband. She refused to move out in 2006, saying God and told her to stay there, and the church moved to evict her.

Investigators said Walker's children often went without food for days at a time.

Conforti found Walker competent to stand trial in October 2007 after a psychiatric evaluation.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/01/05/Woman-says-God-is-her-lawyer/UPI-90041262745242/

This should be interesting.

[BakedAtAMileHigh]

1. that would make a GREAT bumbersticker or button!

"Jesus is my lawyer" would be freaking awesome!

[enlightenment]

2. Does he work pro bono?

Looking forward to seeing how that works out.

[YOY]

3. Can one charge a supposedly omnipresent, omnipotent, omnicognicent unresponsive deity with contempt?

n/t

[Deep13]

8. If an obvious defense is not asserted...

...can she claim ineffective assistence of counsel against an all-knowing, all-loving, omnipotent diety on appeal?

[YOY]

14. And if in fact all all-loving why would he abandon her?

My gawd! It's the Book of Job on trial!

[Soylent Brice]

4. good luck with that. then again...

she now has good grounds to get off with an insanity plea.

[SidDithers]

16. Can she appeal a conviction with charges of incompetent representation?

Sid

[Soylent Brice]

19. LMAO

:spray:

[flakey_foont]

5. if God takes the stand

does He swear an oath to tell 'the whole truth so help me Me"?

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

7. It would be even funnier....

If he refused to take the oath because his religious beliefs require the separation of church and state.

[hlthe2b]

If God swears... "so help me God" is that taking....

his name in vain? I'm so confused.

But this lady needs to get in line... There's many millions waiting on God to defend them....

[Deep13]

6. God is not registered with the highest state court to practice law there.

Consequently, it's error to let god be her lawyer in a criminal case. Unless she elects to proceed pro se, she's stuck with merely human counsel. I suspect a mortal lawyer will object more often than god anyway.

[Robb]

12. True enough

...but when god does object, hoo boy...!

[Deep13]

15. Judge: "Stop striking witnesses dead! ...

...You may be lord of all creation, but I am lord of this courtroom!"

[ORDagnabbit]

9. god says stfu lady. ohh he didnt...prove it. gah.. to give these people the time of day drives me

crazy

[Taitertots]

10. Do the criminally insane deserve prison?

I think this lady needs to spend the rest of her life in prison. She is criminally insane, starving her children because she is hallucinating about god. She is a danger to everyone, how long before god tells her to hurt other people.

[Lucy Goosey]

11. Maybe God is trying to help her by sending her a good legal team.

Seriously, why doesn't it occur to her that maybe God is trying to help by providing a good attorney, and she is rejecting the help on the hopes that He (God) will magically show up in court. Meanwhile, God is somewhere banging his head against the wall in frustration, like, "Lady, I'm trying to help you here, but you're not making it very easy."

[HopeHoops]

13. Hey, it worked for John Denver in 1977 ("Oh God")

I liked all three movies, but the second one with the little girl was easily the best.

[old mark]

17. God says this woman is nuts....lock her up for everyone's protection. nt

[jmm]

18. That reminds me of this joke-

You have probably heard of the fellow whose home was flooded during Hurricane Katrina. When the levees broke this fellow started praying. He asked God to save him. Not long after he started praying an army truck came by and offered him a ride. He declined. Later a boat came by and offered him a ride. He declined. Finally, as he perched on the roof, just before his house went under water, a helicopter came by. They offered him a ride. The man died in the ensuing flood. When he arrived in Heaven he complained that God did not save him. God said “I sent you a truck, a boat, and a helicopter.”