Schizophrenia

"If I am incompetent now, I have been incompetent since the day I was born," he said.

He briefly represented himself during his trial in Virginia.

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"If I am incompetent now, I have been incompetent since the day I was born," he said.

Muhammad, 45, and Lee Boyd Malvo, 21, are accused of murdering 10 people and wounding three during the three-week rampage in October 2002 that spread fear across the Washington metropolitan area.

Ryan refused Muhammad's request to delay the trial, set for May 1, in the six Montgomery County, Md., slayings.

If convicted, he could get a life sentence.

Malvo, who also was convicted in Virginia and sentenced to life in prison, is scheduled to go on trial in the fall.

Muhammad often rambled during Wednesday's two-hour hearing, saying his lawyers ignored his requests for court records and refused to tell the judge he wanted to represent himself.

He eventually wrote a letter to Ryan, dated March 11, asking for permission to fire his lawyers.

At one point, Muhammad asked the judge for permission to sit with the prosecutors because they agreed that he is competent.

Ryan ignored his request.

Prosecutors challenged the diagnosis by Yale University psychiatrist Dorothy Lewis, saying she had commented to the media before Muhammad and Malvo were arrested that the sniper was likely psychotic.

Prosecutor Vivek Chopra said the psychiatrist's report was biased and had been crafted to fit the earlier conclusion.

The judge appointed Muhammad's defense attorneys, Paul DeWolfe and Brian Shefferman, as standby counsel to help him prepare for the trial.

They said they have not decided whether to acce...