 The defense strategy, however, was roundly criticized by the federal magistrate judge overseeing the hearing, who at one point wanted one of the public defenders to take the stand to explain why, if he had notarized the fifth affidavit, defense attorneys only acknowledged two of the documents.An attorney representing the public defender said if his client was ordered to take the stand, he would stand on his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.In the end, the affidavit controversy prompted the head of the Public Defender's office to request that he and several other lawyers in his office be allowed to step aside.