Man Who Represented Self Is Convicted

A man who acted as his own attorney in Pasadena Superior Court was found guilty Thursday of felony robbery and forgery charges, making him eligible for a sentence of 25 years to life under the “three strikes” law.

A jury found Louis Francis, 36, guilty of felony petty theft, intent to commit fraud and forgery in a $195 theft last year in Arcadia. He was found not guilty of burglary charges in the case.

During the trial, Francis, already convicted three times of robbery, spoke against the “three strikes” law, reading aloud from newspaper clippings and reports that said the law is applied disproportionately to African Americans. Francis told Judge Jack B. Tso last month that his right to a fair trial had been compromised by the bias.

He also used a “three strikes” favoritism argument when he tried to prove that the district attorney’s office should be disqualified from prosecuting him because prosecutors reduced charges against the grandson of a contributor to Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti. After the jurors left the courtroom Thursday, Francis told Judge Tso he is not giving up. He said he plans to file a motion for a new trial at his sentencing hearing on April 26.