Federal judge David Hittner will decide by next week whether or not Calvin Burdine should be represented by his appeals attorney in his murder retrial, or if he should let stand Judge Joan Hoffman's ruling that Burdine should be represented by an appointed attorney. It's highly unusual for a federal judge to intervene in a case that is still in progress. Hittner is actually ruling on whether or not he has the authority to intervene, which is just a tad bit convoluted to me, but whatever. For sure if he rules that he can step in, he will rule that Burdine should get the lawyer of his choice, as anything else would make the whole exercise pointless. Time to set a precedent, Your Honor...