Mitchell's outbursts won't slow down case

As the court proceedings for accused Elizabeth Smart kidnapper Brian David Mitchell sluggishly move forward, all eyes and ears will be closely focused on the self-proclaimed prophet at his upcoming competency hearing.

Part of the reason for that is no one knows what the former street preacher will do next.

During the past two consecutive hearings Mitchell has temporarily disrupted court with singing outbursts before being removed from the room.

Some, such as Ed Smart, Elizabeth's father, predict the outbursts will continue at all future hearings.

But several legal experts agree that disruptions in the courtroom by a defendant do little, if anything, to prevent a case from moving forward.

On Dec. 3, Mitchell was removed from 3rd District Judge Judith Atherton's courtroom after singing the Christmas hymn "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" for 41 seconds. The soft singing from the previously tranquil Mitchell caught all court observers off guard and brought everyone else in the room to complete silence.

At his following hearing Jan. 6, Mitchell refused to leave his Salt Lake County Jail cell. Court was delayed more than an hour while Atherton signed an order requiring him to attend that hearing and all subsequent hearings whether he wanted to or not.

Although his delay was long, his appearance was brief.

As soon as Mitchell took his seat in the courtroom he repeated a passage from Matthew 3:2, "Repent for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand." He said it twice before being led back out of the room by bailiffs. The outburst was much louder and more aggressive than his previous singing.

Some have questioned how future proceedings will be conducted if the antics don't stop.

"The most common thing is the (defendant) is removed from the courtroom and the proceeding goes on," said Bret Johnson, general counsel for the administrative office of the courts, who could only speak in general terms about defendants who are disruptive.

None of the people the Deseret Morning News talked to for this story were allowed to speak specifically about Mitchell's case.

Third District Judge Timothy R. Hanson has been on the bench for 23 years. He said during that time he has had few incidents of disruptive defendants or those who continue to cause problems after being warned to stop.

But if a defendant refuses to comply with the orders of the court then they lose their right to attend the hearing, he said.