Detroit , Michigan ( CNN ) -- The federal judge in the Christmas Day bombing attempt case has granted the defendant 's backup attorney access to case documents . U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Edmunds scheduled another pretrial conference hearing for January 12 , 2011 , enough time for Anthony Chambers , the standby counsel for Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab , to examine the documents . She also set a 120-day window for motions to be entered . AbdulMutallab , the British-educated son of a Nigerian bank executive , is accused of trying to set off a bomb hidden in his underwear aboard a plane from Amsterdam , Netherlands , to Detroit on December 25 . The pretrial hearing Thursday came after a federal judge delayed court proceedings for about a month to give . AbdulMutallab time to prepare his legal defense . In September , AbdulMutallab decided that he no longer wanted to be represented by federal defenders and would act as his own attorney . Edmunds granted his request and appointed Chambers to be his standby counsel in case he needs help at any point in the proceedings . Speaking to reporters outside the courtroom , Chambers said the case will be treated like any other . `` We 're going to review it and make the decisions as we go along , '' he said , noting it is unusual for him to be appointed standby counsel . He would n't discuss anything regarding meetings , but he said the discovery access is important `` so we can review the case to determine what should happen and how things should transpire . '' AbdulMutallab faces six federal charges , including attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and willful attempt to destroy an aircraft . He has pleaded not guilty to charges of trying to blow up the Northwest Airlines plane . Chambers said AbdulMutallab 's family is `` very supportive '' of him . AbdulMutallab is not the first high-profile terror suspect who has requested to represent himself in a U.S. court . Zacarias Moussaoui , the first man charged in connection with the September 11 , 2001 , attacks , similarly asked and was allowed to act as his own counsel . A judge later stripped him of that right after warning Moussaoui to stop filing what she called frivolous and disrespectful motions . CNN 's Laura Dolan contributed to this report .
Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab is charged with six counts in alleged bombing attempt . He is accused of trying to blow up a plane with bomb hidden in his underwear . Judge sets next pretrial hearing date , allows four-month period for motions . Attorney says being appointed standby counsel is nothing unusual for him .