Advisory attorney assigned to Uniontown man charged in Capitol assault
The Uniontown man accused of participating in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol is growing increasingly aggravated about the disappearance of his attorney and the delay it is causing for his trial on federal charges.
Peter Schwartz has been jailed since his Feb. 4 arrest on charges he used pepper spray on at least two police officers protecting Congress, but his case has come to a standstill when his Los Angeles-based attorney John Pierce was unavailable for hearings over the past week.
Schwartz appeared for a hearing over video conferencing Thursday while a federal judge tried to figure out how to proceed after Pierce was purportedly hospitalized with COVID-19.
“I feel like my due process rights are being violated to the max,” Schwartz said. “I want my speedy trial rights. I wanted that from Day One. … Zero circumstances are going to change that.”
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta scheduled the hearing Thursday morning to find out where Pierce is or if Schwartz wanted a new attorney. Ryan Marshall, an associate for Pierce’s law firm who is not a licensed attorney, said he spoke to Pierce on Tuesday and that he remains ill, but he has been discharged from the hospital and hopes to return to represent 17 clients charged in the Capitol riot case.
“His illness is very serious right now,” said Marshall, who previously claimed Pierce had contracted COVID-19. “The status is the same. He is very sick and spent most of the day sleeping.”
The Pierce-Bainbridge law firm, which apparently does not have another partner who can represent clients, is looking for an attorney who can temporarily work under contract, Marshall said. He said Pierce hopes to be able to appear again in court next week, but that can’t be assured.
“He’s still down, but he is beginning to feel better,” Marshall said. “But that’s all he said to me.”
But that explanation didn’t help Schwartz, 47, while he remains jailed in Washington, D.C., and wants to go to trial quickly on the 14 charges. Schwartz said he has been wearing the same contact lenses for months and recently suffered a spider bite while in prison that has not healed properly.
“I’m pretty frustrated with it,” Schwartz said of the delay.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jocelyn Bond said prosecutors are concerned that Schwartz is not receiving proper legal advice with his lawyer unable to attend hearings and Marshall not qualified to represent clients. Marshall, 31, of Uniontown, was indicted last August on felony charges in Fayette County in two separate cases brought forward by a grand jury investigating government corruption while he was a law clerk in the courthouse. Mehta said during the hearing that Marshall can appear on behalf of Pierce’s clients in a “limited” role.
Bond suggested that Mehta assign an “advisory counsel” for Schwartz to decide how to proceed, either with Pierce or another attorney. Mehta agreed, and plans to assign a public defender for Schwartz to speak to over the next week while also giving Pierce more time to recover.
“Hopefully that person will be in a position to speak to you between now and next Thursday,” Mehta said.
However, Schwartz appeared to grow increasingly restless during the hearing and complained that he did not want the “speedy trial” clock to stop on his case. But Mehta said the clock can be stopped for a variety of reasons, including problems with respect to the defendant’s attorney.
“Very little respect to the defendant, it seems,” Schwartz said while objecting to the judge’s decision.
Mehta scheduled another hearing at 10:30 a.m. Sept. 9 to discuss the status of Schwartz’s representation and how he wants to proceed.