Macon bomb threat defendant loses appeal

The federal appeals court in Atlanta has upheld the conviction of a man sentenced to 30 years in prison after telephoning a series of bomb threats in Macon five years ago. Eddie Milton Garey Jr. claimed his right to effective counsel was violated when he was forced to represent himself during his 2004 trial. He had rejected his court-appointed attorney. Today the 11th Circuit court disagreed with a lower court decision that the judge had erred in letting Garey act as his own lawyer.