District Judge Seeks Standby Counsel for Man Accused of Killing St. Michael Teacher

The Kandiyohi County judge overseeing the murder trial of Delbert Huber, the man accused of killing teacher Timothy Larson last October, has filed a court order seeking standby counsel for the 81-year-old before his June 18 trial. 

Judge Michael J. Thompson has ordered that the court appoint standby counsel for Huber, who is on Oct. 8, 2011 on Larson's father's land in rural Belgrade. 

Thompson, in his order, is asking the prosecution and Huber, who is currently representing himself, to be ready to discuss today, May 16, whether or not the , or if another delay should be handed down moving the trial to Aug. 1. Central to that conversation is whether or not Huber pays for the standby counsel, who should be on hand to answer his questions on key court rules and procedures as the man builds his own defense in the case. 

Delbert Huber and his son, , 46, have been charged with first-degree murder by a grand jury in Kandiyohi County for their actions in the death of Larson. Both have been held on bail since they called authorities back on Oct. 9, 2011. Delbert Huber is being held on $5 million bail, while Timothy Huber is imprisoned on $1 million bail. 

The elder Huber has appeared in Kandiyohi Court more than a half-dozen times without representation, in his due process. He has told the court repeatedly his family members were arranging counsel, going so far as to bring a lawyer to court who stated he would represent him, but the man said he hadn't been paid. 

Delbert Huber has also made applications through the court for public defense. Those were denied becaue of his financial status. Delbert Huber owned 80 acres of land valued in the hundreds of thousands of dollars by assesors in Kandiyohi and Stearns counties. 

Delbert attempted to transfer that acreage from his possession by filing a quitclaim dead, moving the land to his relatives. A niece and a sister were named the beneficiaries of that deed, which has made them, along with the Hubers, subjects of a in January by the Larson family. 

Also in his order, Thompson sites new a new law passed by the Minnesota Legislature and signed by Gov. Mark Dayton that makes the State Court Administration reponsible for paying standby counsel. However, that law, passed in April, doesn't go into effect until Aug. 1, 2012. Thompson said he's contacted the state to see if it would pay for the standby counsel, despite its timing (prior to the Aug. 1 date).

Under current statute, the county attorney's office is responsible for the standby counsel fees, which could run, over the course of a two-week trial, into the tens of thousands of dollars.