Fieger surprises court, emerging as 13-year-old's co-counsel in murder trial

Geoffrey Fieger is now on 13-year-old Nathaniel Abraham's defense team. (Court TV)

				THE NATHANIEL ABRAHAM TRIAL
				Background Oct. 19 Update (Jury Selection) Oct. 21 Update Oct. 22 Update Oct. 28 Update Oct. 29 (Opening Statements) Oct. 29 Update (Evening) Nov. 1 Update (Morning) Nov. 1 Update (Evening) Nov. 2 Update (Morning) Nov. 2 Update (Evening) Nov. 3 Update Nov. 4 Update Nov. 5 Update (Morning) Nov. 5 Update (Evening) Nov. 8 Update (60 Minutes Interview) Nov. 8 Update (Morning) Nov. 8 Update (Evening) Nov. 9 Update (Both sides rest) Nov. 10 Update (Closing Arguments) Nov. 11 Update Nov. 15 Update (Jury Deliberations) Nov. 16 (The Verdict) Jan. 12 Update Jan. 13 Sentencing Text of Abraham's Sentence Special Report: Michigan Juvenile Law

PONTIAC, Mich. (Court TV) — Dr. Jack Kevorkian's former attorney, Geoffrey Fieger, surprised a Michigan court Tuesday as he appeared as 13 year-old Nathaniel Abraham's co-counsel in his murder trial.

Fieger made his appearance as jury selection continued in Abraham's first-degree murder trial. Abraham is charged in the 1997 shooting death of 18-year-old Ronnie Lee Greene, Jr., making him one of the youngest murder defendants in the nation. Fieger told Court TV that he decided to take Abraham's case because he found it important and criticized the decision to try a 13 year-old as an adult in a first-degree murder trial "Draconian."

"This is a little child, a little boy," Fieger said, "We're not disputing the fact that he's guilty of something. It's the way he's treated that's at issue. We're not saying he should walk the streets [free]. He should be treated like a sick 11-year-old, not a murdering 25-year-old."

Abraham is being tried under a controversial 1997 Michigan law that allows children under age 17 to be tried as adults for serious crimes.

Abraham claims the shooting was accidental. Abraham's defense says he was aiming a stolen rifle at trees 300 feet away from Greene's location and did not intend to harm Greene. But prosecutors say Abraham, who was suspected in 22 previous crimes, had told others that he wanted to shoot someone days before the shooting. If convicted, Abraham faces a variety of sentencing options, which range from life in prison without parole and incarceration in a juvenile institute until age 21.

A pool of 75 potential jurors was dismissed Monday after two made negative comments about Abraham before the rest of the panelists. One prospective juror told Judge Eugene Moore that he had had "run-ins" with Abraham in their Pontiac neighborhood. A second juror said he worked at Children's Village, a juvenile detention center, and remembered that Abraham had resided there. Abraham's lawyer, Daniel Bagdade, argued that the comments tainted the rest of the prospective jurors' views on the 13 year-old boy, and Judge Moore agreed.

When jury selection resumed Tuesday, Judge Moore seated 75 additional prospective jurors and had them fill out questionnaires. Approximately 14 jurors from the original 75-member jury pool were dismissed. Fearing that Fieger's participation in the trial would turn the case into a media circus, prosecutors filed a motion for a gag order, which Judge Moore denied.

Fieger, troubled by the fact that only two out of the 75 prospective jurors that arrived Tuesday were African-American, filed a motion to expand the jury pool. Fieger argued that Abraham has a right to be tried by a jury pool that is reflective of his community — and the scant number of African-Americans on the current pool was too low. Judge Moore ultimately granted Fieger's request, calling a third pool of 75 jurors. However, this panel also only had two African-Americans.

— Bryan Robinson