Bradley Joe Morales, 29, wants to represent himself at his re-trial in the August 2017 stabbing death of his ex-girlfriend.

A hearing was held Wednesday in district court in Minot before Judge Doug Mattson, who asked that Morales submit a written brief to the court outlining why he should be allowed to represent himself. Mattson directed that Morales was to receive the assistance of his court-appointed attorneys in submitting the brief.

Ashley Gulke, who was appointed to represent Morales, told Mattson that Morales has a constitutional right to represent himself if he chooses to do so. She said Morales is intelligent and has pointed out case law to her that seems to be on point.

Mattson noted that Morales’s behavior was problematic during his first trial for Class AA felony murder. Mattson said Morales interrupted Mattson at different points during the first trial in May 2018 and had to be returned to the jail for brief periods to calm down before the trial could resume. If Morales represents himself at the second trial, Mattson said he will need to “conduct himself as an attorney with proper decorum.”

Morales has a history of being unhappy with his court-appointed attorneys. On this occasion, he is apparently unhappy that Gulke has not gotten more done on his case. Mattson told Morales that Gulke was only recently appointed, she has filed motions for court transcripts and other materials and has been familiarizing herself with his case.

In court on Wednesday, Morales told the judge that he believes there are evidentiary issues that should be raised prior to his second trial.

Gulke said Morales takes the position that one of the witnesses at the last trial lied on the stand and her testimony contradicted what was seen on the video played for the jury.

Mattson said the supreme court did not find any problems with the evidence when they ordered a re-trial and this second trial will not be a complete redo.

The supreme court decided in July that Morales must be granted a new trial because Mattson had violated his constitutional right to a public trial by closing the courtroom on different occasions before and during the trial without first considering alternatives.

Morales had been found guilty by a jury at the first trial and Mattson had later sentenced him to 40 years in prison.