Once-powerful attorney Stephen Snyder asks for standby counsel in extortion case against him

Stephen L. Snyder sat alone at the defense table Friday and turned to his opposing counsel, the federal prosecutor pursing attempted extortion and other charges against the once-powerful personal injury lawyer.

He asked for a piece of paper. He asked how much notice he must give the prosecution before calling a witness. He asked why a new judge was handling his case.

The prosecutor patiently explained the basics of criminal procedure to Snyder, then asked a question: “Are you applying for counsel today?”

No, Snyder said.

But after gentle coaxing from U.S. District Judge Deborah L. Boardman, the ailing Snyder relented. Despite his decades of experience in civil law, the longtime medical malpractice lawyer agreed to apply for standby counsel who would assist him, but not represent him, if his long-pending criminal case goes to trial.

“I definitely need help,” Snyder said in court.

Snyder, 76, is accused of trying to extort the University of Maryland Medical System in 2018 by threatening to go public with negative claims about the medical system’s kidney transplant program. Snyder said he would remain quiet, prosecutors charge, if the medical system agreed to what they called a sham $25 million consulting agreement that would have prevented Snyder from handling future lawsuits against UMMS.

Snyder presented the deal as part of a settlement with a woman whose husband allegedly died after a botched transplant at the medical system’s flagship hospital, the University of Maryland Medical Center. Prosecutors say he was simply seeking a payout and did not intend to do any work for UMMS.

The case has dragged on since October 2020, slowed by the coronavirus pandemic and an appeal to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that put proceedings on hold for a time. The case will begin moving forward again soon; the 4th Circuit ruled in November that a pair of law firms that worked with Snyder on the UMMS deal had to turn over records in response to a grand jury subpoena.

Snyder has been representing himself since December, when, after a tense back-and-forth, a judge found that Snyder was competent to proceed without a lawyer.

Snyder’s defense team, led by prominent Baltimore attorney Arnold Weiner, asked to withdraw from the case last year, after Snyder contacted the judge handling the case directly in a call that the judge described as “disorganized and haphazard.”

Snyder became emotional several times during Friday’s hearing, bemoaning the fact that the case has lasted for so long. He acknowledged that he needs help navigating criminal procedure, and that he is short on cash, but said he would be embarrassed to have a public defender appointed.

Standby counsel likely would be chosen from a panel of private attorneys who handle court-appointed cases. If Snyder is granted standby counsel, he still would be representing himself, but an attorney would sit by his side and help him with the case.

Boardman tried repeatedly to redirect Snyder as he talked openly in court about his pending criminal charges.

“There’s no need to ramble right now,” the judge said.

Boardman also closed the courtroom briefly for a discussion of Snyder’s medical problems.

Snyder remains confident that he will win a pending motion to dismiss his indictment. He has denied the charges and argued that he took pains to ensure the consulting deal with UMMS was ethical. In court papers, he has portrayed the case as an effort by UMMS to “neutralize him” because of his years of medical malpractice litigation against the hospital system.

Snyder agreed to the suspension of his law license when he was indicted, but has since regained the ability to practice law. The Maryland Supreme Court agreed over a year ago that there was no basis to continue the suspension because Snyder has not been convicted of a crime.

Snyder, however, said he is in poor health and devoting four to six hours per day to his criminal case.

“I’m not the Steve Snyder that I used to be,” he said, breaking down into tears. “I don’t have the confidence I used to. I don’t know if I can ever practice law again.”