Judge sets plea deadline

By Ed White Associated Press DETROIT (AP) -- A judge last Thursday set an Aug. 19 deadline for any plea deal involving the Nigerian man accused of trying to blow up a Detroit-bound jet with 290 people aboard. During a brief hearing, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab again insisted on representing himself, a question that U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Edmunds has asked each time he appears in court. Abdulmutallab is charged with trying to ignite an explosive in his underwear as Northwest Airlines Flight 253 approached Detroit Metropolitan Airport on Christmas 2009. The plane left Amsterdam with 279 passengers and a crew of 11. Edmunds set a plea-deal deadline at the request of Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Martin. Trial is set for Oct. 4. Anthony Chambers, who is assisting Abdulmutallab as his standby counsel, said there would be challenges to some evidence he predicted would require additional hearings. The deadline for pretrial motions is June 24. Abdulmutallab complained that he was being treated "unjustly and unfairly" at the Milan, Mich., federal prison where he's being held while awaiting trial. He said he ordered a magazine but only received one issue. He didn't disclose the title. "I'm not allowed any inflammatory reading material, which for them can mean anything," Abdulmutallab said of prison officials. Edmunds said she would investigate if Abdulmutallab provides more details. Chambers said he would make a court filing. "There have been some challenges to put it mildly," he told the judge. Published: Mon, Apr 11, 2011