The Court of Appeals decision was posted Friday on its Web site, but the judges didn't offer a written ruling of their denial of Muhammad's request for a writ of certiorari.

Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo (news) were convicted in 2006 on six counts of first-degree murder in Montgomery County (web|news) for the October 2002 sniper shootings that terrorized the area. Ten people were killed and three were wounded in the shootings in Maryland, the District of Columbia and Virginia.

Last year, Maryland's appellate appeals court rejected Muhammad's request for a new trial in a sharply worded unanimous decision. The Maryland Court of Special Appeals compared Muhammad to Jack the Ripper, saying he terrorized the Washington region in a fashion similar to the notorious Victorian serial killer.

Muhammad represented himself in Maryland. He based part of his appeal on the claim that he was wrongly prevented from continuing a certain line of questioning of Malvo, who testified against Muhammad.

Muhammad and Malvo are in prison in Virginia, where Muhammad was sentenced to death, and Malvo to life without parole.
Malvo pleaded guilty to the Maryland charges.

J. Wyndal Gordon, a Baltimore lawyer who acted as "standby counsel" during Muhammad's trial, could not immediately be reached for comment.

On the Net:
Maryland Court of Appeals: http://www.courts.state.md.us/coappeals