PHOENIX — Shooting suspect Jared Loughner made an initial appearance in federal court here Monday as doctors in Tucson watched Rep. Gabrielle Giffords enter a crucial phase of her recovery from a gunshot.
Loughner, 22, had a shaved head and a cut on his right temple as he made his initial court hearing. He faces five federal counts, including two charges of murder. In all, the rampage left six dead, including a federal judge and a 9-year-old girl, and 14 people injured.
More than a dozen federal marshals stood by as Magistrate Judge Lawrence Anderson listed the potential punishments Loughner faces if convicted, including life in prison and the death penalty. Anderson asked the suspect whether he understood. Loughner leaned into the microphone and answered calmly: “Yes.”
Anderson, who called Loughner “a threat to the community,” ordered him remanded to federal custody. He is scheduled to be back in court Jan. 24.
In Tucson, doctors said the 40-year-old congresswoman’s condition had not changed since Sunday.
“At this stage in the game, no change is good, and we have no change,” said Michael Lemole, chief of neurosurgery at University Medical Center.
Dr. Peter Rhee said Giffords has managed to give doctors a thumbs-up and has been reaching for her breathing tube, even while sedated.
“That’s a purposeful movement,” he said. “That’s a great thing.”
In Washington, President Barack Obama and congressional leaders paused to honor the victims of Saturday’s shootings. The president plans to speak at a memorial service in Tucson on Wednesday. First lady Michelle Obama also will attend.
“We must do better”
From the international space station, Giffords’ brother-in-law, Scott, the commanding officer, spoke over the radio as flight controllers in Houston fell silent.
“As I look out the window, I see a very beautiful planet that seems very inviting and peaceful,” he said. “Unfortunately, it is not.
“These days, we are constantly reminded of the unspeakable acts of violence and damage we can inflict upon one another, not just with our actions but also with our irresponsible words,” he said.
“We’re better than this,” he said. “We must do better.”
Obama and congressional leaders were figuring out their next steps in response to the shooting, searching for the right time, place and tone for a unifying moment. The president said the whole country needs to show its loss but also speak to a sense of hope. The question, he said, is “how, out of this tragedy, we can come together as a stronger nation.”
Amid the mourning, Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., a longtime advocate of gun control, said he would introduce legislation this month to ban high-capacity ammunition clips. The measure would re-establish a prohibition that lapsed in 2004 on clips that feed more than 10 rounds at a time.
“The only reason to have 33 bullets loaded in a handgun is to kill a lot of people very quickly,” Lautenberg said. “These high-capacity clips simply should not be on the market.”
Lawyer appointed
On Monday, the Federal Public Defender’s Office asked a judge to appoint Loughner the same lawyer who defended Theodore Kaczynski, also known as the Unabomber.
Judy Clarke, a San Diego lawyer, is known as a tireless and effective campaigner against capital punishment. In the 1990s, she convinced a South Carolina jury that Susan Smith did not deserve the death penalty for drowning her two sons in a lake. At a hearing Monday, Loughner was asked whether he accepted Clarke as his attorney. He replied that he did.
Clarke objected to any Arizona federal judge overseeing the case and to the state’s U.S. attorney’s office leading the prosecution, citing conflict of interest because of its presumed relationship with John Roll, the federal judge from Tucson who was among those killed in the shooting.
“We do have great concern about proceeding further than today with Arizona judges,” she told Anderson.
Anderson said all Tucson District judges have already recused themselves and that he, too, would end his involvement after Monday’s hearing. It was not immediately clear how the U.S. attorney’s office will respond to Clarke’s concerns. The prosecution’s lead attorney, Wallace Kleindienst, did not address the matter Monday.
Legal experts said it is not uncommon for 9th Circuit federal judges from outside the state to come to Arizona to preside over cases. They acknowledged that Roll was a well-respected peer whose death has rocked the tightly knit Arizona legal community.
“The loss of Judge Roll is huge,” said Alan Bayham, president of the State Bar of Arizona. “Every lawyer knew of him. He was a state court judge before. He was a federal judge and a prosecutor before that. The loss is just tremendous.”
State charges pending
Arizona officials also said Monday that they plan to file murder charges against Loughner in state court. They are considering filing dozens of additional charges in connection with “endangering” people who were present, but not hurt, during the shootings.
“We have so many victims, and it’s important to have justice for them and not just for the federal employees,” said Barbara LaWall, the Pima County attorney.
She said it is unclear whether charges will be filed soon or after the federal case against Loughner is finished.
“We don’t want to do anything to endanger the (federal) case,” she said.
At the La Toscana shopping center in Tucson, where the shootings took place, stores reopened Monday. Shoppers and store owners tried to return to their routines as news trucks sat in the parking lot and FBI agents roamed the sidewalks outside the Safeway.
“There’s no one here,” said Ted Tucker, who lives nearby and was trying to pick up a prescription at Walgreens. “This is our Safeway. It is where the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts sit out and sell cookies.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
