Nancy Garrido's court-appointed attorney has been removed from the case, pending a possible appeal later this month, court records indicate.
The move took place last Thursday in a secret court hearing during which only Nancy Garrido, defense attorney Gilbert Maines, court staff and security officers were present, according to El Dorado County Superior Court records.
A court order issued the day before the hearing indicates that "the court is in receipt of confidential evidence," but there is no indication of what it might be.
The hearing itself was held behind closed doors, and afterward Judge Douglas Phimister ordered Maines relieved as Garrido's attorney. The judge also ordered that Maines' removal be stayed until Nov. 30 and that if an appeal is issued it will be sealed.
All records of the Thursday hearing also were ordered sealed.
Maines and Deputy District Attorney James Clinchard did not respond to telephone messages today, but a veteran defense attorney and former prosecutor said it appears as though Garrido sought the removal of her attorney in what is referred to as a "Marsden hearing."
"Ninety-nine times out of 100 that's how it works," said attorney William J. Portanova. "One time out of 100 it's the attorney who wants out of the case."
Maines was in the national spotlight after being appointed as Garrido's attorney and appearing on NBC's Today show, where he said his client was "distraught" and "scared" and "seems to be a little lost."
He also said he planned to have his client evaluated to assess her state of mind.
Authorities believe Nancy Garrido may have been the one who grabbed Jaycee Lee Dugard and pulled her into a car with her husband, Phillip, in 1991 when Dugard was an 11-year-old girl walking to her school bus stop.
Both are charged with kidnap, rape and other charges and are believed to have held Dugard for 18 years, most of the time in the backyard of the Garrido's Antioch-area home.
Both have pleaded not guilty to the charges, which could send them to prison for life.
The Garridos, who being held at the El Dorado County Jail, are scheduled to return to court Dec. 11 as their case proceeds.
Call The Bee's Sam Stanton, (916) 321-1091.
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