Attorneys appointed for Mitchell, Barzee

When asked by a Salt Lake judge Wednesday morning if his name was "Brian David Mitchell," the alleged abductor of Elizabeth Smart responded:

"That is the name the world calls me by."

With a thick, unkempt beard, Mitchell appeared before 3rd District Judge Tyrone Medley via closed-circuit television from the Salt Lake County Jail.

A standing-room only crowd, including some 30 leather-clad members of Bikers Against Child Abuse (BACA), watched as Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Ilene Barzee, made their first appearances on multiple first-degree felony charges related to Elizabeth's June 5 abduction.

Mitchell, 49, and Barzee, 57, were each appointed attorneys from the Salt Lake Legal Defenders Association. Their next court appearance was scheduled at 2 p.m. April 1.

Medley ordered that only attorneys of record be allowed to visit Mitchell and Barzee in jail, apparently a reference to Salt Lake attorney Larry Long's weekend visit to Mitchell. Long emerged from the jail claiming he was Mitchell's attorney.

Prosecutors made the standard request that Mitchell and Barzee not have any contact with Elizabeth, her family or associates of the Smarts.

Members of BACA said they attended the hearing at the request of Elizabeth's father, Ed Smart. National spokesman Paul Dubois said his group planned to be at every hearing in support of Elizabeth.

With evidence mounting against Mitchell and Barzee, the most difficult issue prosecutors may face is how they'll deal with Elizabeth's testimony on the sexual assault charges.

Ed and Lois Smart have stressed that they don't want Elizabeth victimized again by having to relive her nine-month ordeal in public. They have asked the media to refrain from seeking additional details of the charges that were not outlined in court documents.

Salt Lake District Attorney David Yocom said, however, that the Smarts have been very cooperative and want to see Mitchell and Barzee prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, even if it means Elizabeth may at some point have to take the witness stand.

Smart family spokesman Chris Thomas said Tuesday that the family is cooperating with the district attorney and studying victims' rights.

The family last week hired defense attorney and former state prosecutor Greg Skordas to represent Elizabeth throughout the court proceedings.