A federal judge denied Stephen L. Snyder’s request to be represented by an attorney ahead of his federal extortion sentencing, saying it “rings hollow” and was designed to disrupt and delay the case.

At a hearing Tuesday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy Sullivan said he observed that Snyder was continuing to try to control his case and repeatedly interrupted his proposed attorney, whose skill as a lawyer he criticized.

“Considering the record, the Court finds that Mr. Snyder’s motive in seeking appointment of counsel is not sincere,” Sullivan wrote in an opinion issued Wednesday.

Snyder, 77, once one of the most successful plaintiff’s attorneys in Maryland, represented himself at his trial on charges that he sought to extort the University of Maryland Medical System for $25 million in 2018. He struggled to present his case and repeatedly ran afoul of the trial judge, Deborah Boardman, who at the conclusion of closing arguments held him in contempt and threw him in jail for the night for repeatedly violating her rules.

Jurors convicted Snyder after less than three hours of deliberation. Snyder later requested that his standby counsel, Gerald Ruter, represent him going forward and asked for an acquittal or a new trial. Ruter detailed troubling observations of Snyder during their months of interactions.

Ruter wrote that Snyder appeared to have “mental disease or disorder” that needed to be evaluated.

Ruter described Snyder as disorganized with “muddled“ thoughts. He said Snyder had not been reading documents in the case and seemed to be thinking only about what he would say in opening statements. During the trial, as Snyder called witnesses, he noted he had never spoken to them before and did not have exhibits ready to be displayed. Snyder was admonished for attempting to testify through his questions and trying to ask about topics that had been ruled out of bounds.

At one point, after being chastised by Boardman, Snyder turned around to supporters and said: “I don’t care what she says.”

The matter was referred for what’s called an “attorney inquiry” hearing in front of Sullivan, who had previously conducted such hearings in Snyder’s case. In his ruling Wednesday, Sullivan said Snyder had been given ample warnings about representing himself.

“It is telling that Mr. Snyder waited until he was convicted to raise concerns about his ability to represent himself (and his competency more generally),” Sullivan wrote. “The Court spent extensive time warning Mr. Snyder against self-representation and questioning his ability to effectively mount a defense without the assistance of counsel.”

He said Snyder had steadfastly insisted he was a master litigator and best situated to defend himself against the charges.

Sullivan said a new attorney would need time to review the case and would likely seek to second-guess strategic decisions Snyder made at trial, “effectively giving Mr. Snyder a second chance at litigating issues that have already been decided.”

“Allowing such a tactic would cause tremendous delay and undermine the fair administration of justice,” he said.

Ruter, meanwhile, was terminated from the case as standby counsel, and attorney C. Justin Brown was appointed to take his place. Sullivan said Ruter could be a “necessary witness” if Snyder pursued a competency claim.

Sullivan’s opinion concluded by ordering Snyder to reimburse the court for Ruter and Brown’s services.