Man who defended himself in court to be sentenced Monday
Michael Ballad of Sag Harbor — convicted in Shelter Island Justice Court of aggravated driving while intoxicated, driving while intoxicated as a first offense and license plate, insurance and registration violations — is due to be sentenced on Monday.
Mr. Ballad, in an extremely rare circumstance, opted to represent himself in a September jury trial, assisted by Sabato Capoli from the Suffolk County Legal Aid Society.
The three-day trial and conviction before Justice Helen Rosenblum was frequently interrupted by the judge’s admonitions about what could or couldn’t be said by Mr. Ballad.
The charges stemmed from a July 31, 2010, incident in which Mr. Ballad was stopped by police where he lived at the time on North Midway Road.
Mr. Ballad characterized the police testimony about the incident as a “fairy tale,” saying, “This whole entire case was fabricated.”
A charge of possession of marijuana was dismissed, while jurors found Mr. Ballad not guilty of driving at an imprudent speed and crossing over the middle line in the roadway.
By the end of the testimony and before charging the jury, Justice Rosenblum told both Mr. Ballad and Assistant District Attorney Sean Buckley they had done “a fine job” trying the case.
