DC Superior Court Judge Andrea Hertzfeld persuaded a non-fatal shooting defendant to attend a court hearing on Aug. 1 after multiple refusals to appear,, then presented him with reasons to continue showing up.
Rashid Shabazz, 36, pleaded guilty on Sept. 27, 2024, to unlawful discharge of a firearm and unlawful possession of a firearm with a prior conviction for his involvement in a non-fatal shooting that occurred on March 4, 2024, on the 5000 block of Banks Place, NE.
At the hearing, Shabazz greeted Judge Hertzfeld with energetic goodwill over the court’s video conferencing platform.
“Anticipating that Mr. Shabazz would not get on the bus, I arranged with [an officer] at the jail to have him appear by video,” Judge Hertzfeld explained to the prosecution and defense attorneys.
Susan Borecki, Shabazz’ attorney, repeated her request from previous hearings to be dismissed from representing Shabazz, since he refuses to communicate with her and has asked to represent himself.
Judge Hertzfeld repeated her previous refusal to rule on Borecki’s request.
Judge Hertzfeld told Shabazz, if he wants to represent himself, he must do it in the courtroom. If he doesn’t appear in person at the next hearing, she’ll consider that he’s abandoning the request for self-representation.
One of the cases in which Shabazz is charged has a 100-day time limit to go to trial. Judge Hertzfeld told Shabazz that, when he fails to attend a court hearing, the time until the next hearing won’t count toward that limit.
“Do you understand that, Mr. Shabazz?” Judge Hertzfeld asked.
“Yes, ma’am,” he responded with enthusiasm.
Parties are next scheduled to meet on Aug. 12.
