Hale can represent himself at sentencing

White supremacist Matthew Hale will be allowed to represent himself in his sentencing and any other legal matters in his case, a federal judge ruled Tuesday. A so-called stand-by attorney also will be available to Hale, who is awaiting November sentencing. In May, a jury convicted Hale of soliciting the murder of a federal judge and obstructing justice. Hale fired his defense attorney, Thomas Durkin, and for a short while was represented by a cousin. Hale, who attended law school but was refused a law license in Illinois, has asked for a new trial, saying Durkin disparaged him throughout the trial and went ''so far as to calling me names and even telling the jury that I deserved to be convicted on a moral basis.''