Case o' The Week: Ninth Nod to the Nutty – Equivocation When Going Pro Se in Faretta Hearings

 Feeling Lucky?Charles 'Lucky' LucianoUnited States v. Audette, 2019 WL 2096455 (9thCir. May 14, 2019), decision available here.Players: Decision by Judge M. Smith, joined by Judges Hawkins and Hurwitz. Hard-fought appeal by District of Arizona AFPD Elizabeth J. Krushchek.Facts: Steven Audette borrowed millions, explaining that he needed to pay federal agents to protect him from the mafia. Id. at *1. He assured victims that he was a relative of organized crime figure Lucky Luciano, and was destined to inherit millions. Id. He and his family would be killed, he explained, and his victims kidnapped, tortured, and murdered, if he didn’t make the pay-offs. Id. at *2.   In reality, however, the Mafia wasn’t after Audette, nor was he related to Luciano. Id.  Audette was charged with 90 counts of wire fraud.   After a court-ordered eval a shrink concluded Audette was not competent. Id. at *2. Audette was shipped off to the BOP, which quickly…

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