California IN BRIEF : SANTA CLARA : Defendant Seeks to Fire Sleepy Lawyer

A murder defendant has asked a judge for permission to fire his attorney amid charges that the lawyer fell asleep in court. Salvatore Marino, 43, is on trial in Santa Clara County Superior Court for allegedly killing Peter Catelli and trying to kill his father, Orlando Catelli, over an extortion threat made to Marino’s father nearly 14 years ago. He asked Judge James Chang for permission to dismiss James McKittrick because Marino says the lawyer fell asleep in court earlier in the day, Sheriff’s Deputy Harry Sorensen said. Sorensen, who also was in the courtroom, said he did not see the lawyer snoozing and could not verify the charge. However, McKittrick said he began nodding off because he had stayed up until 3 a.m. preparing for the trial.