A Texas capital murder trial is set to proceed Monday — but the defendant has already experienced a very small taste of how an electric chair might feel: He was given a shock in court for refusing to comply with a judge's orders. 
 
 James Calvert, 45, has represented himself in the possible death penalty case since 2012, when he was charged with killing his estranged wife and abducting their son. 
 
 Calvert was outfitted with a shock belt after Judge Jack Skeen raised security concerns and said Calvert was acting erratically, Reuters reported. The belt was used when Calvert didn't follow a judge's order to stand up. 
 
 Kathryn Kase, executive director of Texas Defender Service, told NBC News that Calvert appears to be mentally ill and shouldn't have been allowed to act as his own lawyer in the first place. 
 
 "The Supreme Court has ruled: People with a history of mental illness are supposed to show a much higher level of competence to represent themselves," she said. 
 
 It does not appear that Calvert has shown that level of competence, Kase said, adding that earlier in the trial, Calvert told the judge that all of his objections "will be phrased as 'foxtrot.'" 
 
 "That's something that someone with mental illness does," she said. "That says to me, someone is losing their grip on reality." 
 
 James Calvert Smith County Sheriff 
 
 A sheriff's lieutenant told Reuters that the shock belt is used like a Taser, and it is less obvious to a jury than leg irons and handcuffs. It was unclear who ordered it to be used, Kase said. 
 
 Skeen did not respond to interview requests on Sunday, and Reuters reported that he issued a gag order on the trial. 
 
 After the shock was administered, Skeen told Calvert that would no longer be allowed to represent himself, Kase said. 
 
 But a two-week break, she added, was hardly enough time for a new attorney to prepare his case. 
 
 "During all this time that Mr. Calvert was representing himself, he wasn't doing what a qualified lawyer [would be] doing," she said. ||||| Editor's Note: The murder trial for capital murder defendant James Calvert continued Tuesday. Cody Lillich is in the courtroom providing live coverage through 7OnScene; follow his updates here. 
 
 
 
 Proceedings began Tuesday morning much like every other day of the trial -- objections from Calvert on previous testimony, and a verbal disagreement between the defendant and trial judge Judge Jack Skeen, Jr before jurors are allowed in the courtroom. Court ended with a shock, literally to Calvert's shock belt, and Skeen terminating Calvert's self-representation. 
 
 
 
 Early Tuesday morning, while the jury waited in the hall, Calvert raised issue with another court reporter being brought in to transcribe testimony. Judge Skeen said in order to get those transcriptions to him daily, the court must have deputy court reports working in the hearings. 
 
 
 
 READ MORE: James Calvert capital murder trial 
 
 
 
 Calvert tried to claim some court reports are under investigation, in which Skeen called out immediately as a lie, "Denied. That's it, bring in the jury." 
 
 
 
 After jurors were seated, testimony resumed from Detective Craig Shine, who led the investigation into Jelena Sriraman's death. Audio from the microphone Shine was wearing while Calvert was being booked was played, detailing his stubbornness to hand over the clothes he was wearing, which were used for DNA and evidence purposes. 
 
 
 
 He also tried telling the detectives that we wouldn't get in trouble for damaging his cell and acting up while in custody. 
 
 
 
 "Let's see. Oh, capital murder, is there anything above that?" Calvert was heard on recordings from the Tyler Police Department interview room following his capture. 
 
 
 
 First Assistant District Attorney April Sikes resumed questioning the detective about Calvert the night of his arrest, asking if Lucas, Calvert's then 4-year-old son, wasn't there if he would've shot at officers. 
 
 
 
 "[Calvert] said he would've shot those idiots," Shine said. 
 
 
 
 Shine then went into detail on the tactics used in interviewing Calvert. Shine is a member of the Tyler Police Department's Crisis Negotiation Team, and pointed out moments where he believed Calvert was intentionally changing his speech patterns. From the interview, the detective recalled Calvert's timeline of events before and after Sriraman's alleged murder, but never spoke of the time of the alleged murder. 
 
 
 
 He also recalled when Calvert said it was a good day for his son, Lucas. 
 
 
 
 "Was it a good day for Lucas?" Sikes asked Shine. 
 
 
 
 "It was probably the worst day of his life," the detective replied. 
 
 
 
 Shine also testified about a part of the interview where Calvert implied he had knowledge of where Sriraman was murdered. When Calvert was asked about witnesses during his interview, he told detectives he did not know anyone who lived around her. 
 
 
 
 Sikes then presented the court the alleged murder weapon, asking Shine whether the .40 pistol was mentioned during his post-arrest interview. 
 
 
 
 "Calvert didn't tell you about a .40 in the interview did he?" Sikes asked. 
 
 
 
 "No, he omitted that," the detective replied. 
 
 
 
 Sikes also mentioned the number of weapons police found in Calvert's trunk, some of which were pointing in Lucas' direction; a mention Calvert hotly objected. 
 
 
 
 "She's asserting the weapons were pointed at the child," Calvert exclaimed. 
 
 
 
 "I sure am," Sikes replied. 
 
 
 
 Calvert alleged that police records aren't allowed in evidence, and called Tyler police property log "untruthful" and "biased". When Sikes asked how the accusations makes Shine feel, he replied "considering the source, I'm fine." 
 
 
 
 Calvert then began questioning the detective about search warrants executed at his mother's home in October 2013, where in at least one instance, two dozen guns were confiscated from her home. 
 
 
 
 "I just want the jury to know the truth," Calvert said. 
 
 
 
 "What you can't handle is the truth," the judge replied. 
 
 
 
 The assistant district attorney said the truth is the state agreed to suppress the search of the home to protect Calvert's rights, which caused Calvert to laugh out loud in court, and Judge Skeen to excuse the jury for yet another discussion on courtroom manners. He even threatened Calvert that one outburst and he would be removed by "whatever means they have to control you." 
 
 
 
 "You are a defiant defendant. A rebellious defendant," Skeen told Calvert. "I've gone as far as I'm gonna go." 
 
 
 
 After jurors were allowed back into the courtroom, Calvert began a second stream of questions about the search of his mother's property, forcing the judge to put order in record that Calvert be forbidden to mention the search, or his self-representation would be dissolved. 
 
 
 
 Calvert objected to security sitting so close to him, and requested the judge admonish him. 
 
 
 
 "If I'm gonna admonish somebody, you know who it's gonna be," the judge said. 
 
 
 
 Calvert then asked if police placed license plates in his car the day of his arrest, which Shine vehemently denied. 
 
 
 
 "James Calvert, don't you ever accuse me of committing a felony again," he replied. 
 
 He followed the question up by remarking on how "highly offensive to [the] jury and [the] courtroom" the capital murder defendant's line of questioning was. 
 
 Calvert refused to stand up when talking to the judge, leading a deputy in the courtroom to administer the shock belt worn by Calvert. The capital murder defendant screamed for about 5 seconds before Judge Skeen terminated his self-representation. 
 
 "I should have done this a lot sooner," Skeen said. "I don't have to take it. You're out." Court was then adjourned. 
 
 
 
 James Calvert is accused of shooting Jelena Sriraman before abducting their then 4-year-old son Lucas and fleeing to Louisiana, where he was eventually arrested. Calvert is acting as his own legal defense. Smith County District Attorney Matt Bingham has said he intends on pursuing the death penalty. 
 
 
 
 Copyright 2015 KLTV. All rights reserved. ||||| TEXARKANA, Texas A potential death penalty trial in East Texas is set to resume on Monday after it was put on hold when a judge was said by a TV station to have had a shock belt used on the defendant for misbehaving. 
 
 James Calvert, 45, of Tyler, Texas, is on trial in Smith County, where prosecutors allege he beat and fatally shot his former wife at her home and abducted their 4-year-old son in October 2012. 
 
 Judge Jack Skeen allowed Calvert to defend himself, over objections from attorneys specializing in the death penalty, at the outset of the trial in August. Skeen also ordered a shock device be placed on Calvert for security reasons because of his unpredictable behavior, legal officials said. 
 
 On Sept. 15, when Calvert did not stand up at the judge's request, Skeen had an electric shock administered on the defendant that caused him to twist in pain before the jury, local TV broadcaster KLTV reported. 
 
 "Calvert refuses to stand up when talking to judge. Shock belt is administered, Calvert scream 'ahh' for about 5 seconds," Cody Lillich, a KLTV reporter, tweeted from the courtroom. 
 
 After Calvert was shocked, Skeen allowed public defenders who had been monitoring the hearings to defend him, court officials said. The trial is set to resume on Monday after it was put on recess on Sept. 16. 
 
 The judge has issued a gag order in the case, a court official said. 
 
 Skeen did not respond to requests for comment. 
 
 Legal experts said the judge's conduct could open the door to appeals if Calvert is convicted and possible sanction for abuse of the shock belt, which is to be used only if the defendant poses an immediate security risk. 
 
 "This is just a travesty of justice as far as I’m concerned. This man is facing an execution if he’s convicted," said George Parnham, a Houston lawyer who represented Andrea Yates, who drowned her five children and was found innocent by reason of insanity on appeal. 
 
 Skeen, who was Smith County district attorney before he was elected a district judge, has had no disciplinary sanctions, according to the Texas Bar Association. 
 
 Calvert has been disruptive because of mental illness, making it all the more reasonable to have had a lawyer represent him from the start, said Kathryn Kase, executive director of the Texas Defender Service, which has been monitoring the case. 
 
 "I know of no death penalty trial in the state of Texas where the defendant has been able to represent himself who got life in prison,” Kase said. 
 
 It is common to have a shock belt on defendants at jury trials for safety, and the device is less obvious than handcuffs or leg irons, Smith County Sheriff's Lieutenant Gary Middleton said. 
 
 "It's really pretty effective when we use it. It's kind of like a Taser," he said. 
 
 (Reporting by Lisa Bose McDermott; Writing by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)
– A capital murder trial put on hold after a literal shock will resume in Smith County, Texas, on Monday and for the first time, defendant James Calvert will not represent himself. After Calvert was accused of murdering ex-wife Jelena Sriraman and abducting their 4-year-old son in October 2012, the 45-year-old chose to represent himself. A rep for the Texas Defender Service tells NBC News Calvert is mentally ill and "people with a history of mental illness are supposed to show a much higher level of competence" than he has in order to do so. Even so, Calvert defended himself until Sept. 15, when he received a shock from the shock belt Judge Jack Skeen had ordered he wear in court for safety reasons, reports Reuters. It isn't clear who ordered the shock, but it followed several outbursts noted by Skeen, who seemed to lose patience with Calvert as the hearing progressed. At one point, Calvert laughed out loud and Skeen told him that another outburst would mean he'd be removed from court by "whatever means they have to control you," reports KLTV. When Calvert afterward refused to stand while speaking to the judge, a deputy administered a shock that caused Calvert to scream for five seconds. Skeen then ended Calvert's self-representation. "I should have done this a lot sooner," he said, per KLTV. "I don't have to take it. You're out." A Smith County sheriff's lieutenant says a shock belt is commonly put on defendants at jury trials. "It's really pretty effective when we use it. It's kind of like a Taser," he says. However, legal experts say the belt is only to be used "if the defendant poses an immediate security risk," per Reuters, which means the judge could be penalized and Calvert could be granted an appeal if he is convicted. "This is just a travesty of justice as far as I'm concerned," a lawyer says.