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usaw/tdvorak BOISE, Idaho (AP) Attorneys serving as standby counsel for Joseph Edward Duncan III asked a federal judge to allow them to step down from his death penalty case, saying they could not ethically proceed.

U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge turned down the request Wednesday, saying he would not allow the case to be delayed any longer.

After a delay that lasted more than three months, lawyers are back in court to continue picking a jury for the sentencing phase of Duncan's capital murder case.

Duncan is facing the death penalty after pleading guilty to 10 federal charges in the high profile 2005 kidnapping of two northern Idaho children and the murder of one of them.

Judge Lodge delayed jury selection in late April after Duncan sought permission to act as his own attorney.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 08-06-08 1218CDT | save this article / add to your favorites list