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Before Daniel Nunez was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole today for the execution-style death of Jesus Payan, he tried to persuade Torrance Superior Court Judge Steven Van Sicklen that he deserved a different, better attorney.

Admittedly, I walked into the courtroom after the former San Pedro man's attempt to fire his attorney, known as a Marsden motion, was underway - so I'm not sure how much I missed. When I came in, the shackled convicted murderer was pointing out to Van Sicklen the mistakes his court-appointed attorney, Richard Everett, had made during trial and post trial motions. He noted that the veteran criminal defense attorney got things like locations, names and dates inaccurate.

"I understand people make mistakes," Nunez said. "We all make mistakes."

But, noting the gravity of his situation, Nunez added: "I mean, this is my life we're talking about here."

Van Sicklen said he saw a few of the mistakes, but, in the long run, the thrust of the post-trial motion for new trial that Everett filed on Nunez's behalf was clear- inaccuracies or not.

"There's no such thing as a 'perfect trial,'" Van Sicklen said. "In my mind, Mr. Everett clearly knew the facts of your case."

Van Sicklen went on to note that Everett is a "really nice man." Having a jury that likes the defense attorney in a case like this can go a long way, he added.

Van Sicklen denied Nunez's motion.

Almost every trial I've ever seen begins exactly the same way: The judge spends four or five minutes telling the jury all the things they can't do. This includes discussing the case with anyone, aside from fellow jurors during deliberations, reading or listening to news accounts of the trial and making decisions before the case is submitted to them.

But, when the Daniel Nunez and Rudy Tafoya trial began Tuesday, Torrance Superior Court Judge Steven Van Sicklen told the jury he was going to do things differently. And that, he did. After ensuring each juror and alternate had a written copy of the instructions he was reading, he spent nearly 15 minutes telling them their dos and don'ts, and added some of the basic instructions given in almost every criminal case AFTER the evidence is presented.

It was kind of an interesting concept in that jurors may be more aware of such things as reasonable doubt, credibility of witnesses and circumstantial evidence rules as they proceed through the case. What was REALLY different, though, was the inclusion of prohibitions that would've never been an issue a few short years ago: No Twittering about the case, don't Google or Bing anything about it and don't discuss it on Facebook, MySpace or blogs.

Web 2.0 has entered the courtroom.

Following a night of packing, drinking and drugs, Jesus Payan, 38, ended up bound and dead on a Palos Verdes Drive South turnout in Rancho Palos Verdes. His two friends, cousins Rudy Tafoya, 21, and Daniel Nunez, 27, were ordered today to stand trial following a preliminary hearing.

The only witness to testify, Sheriff Detective Dameron Peyton, didn't answer any questions about possible motives for the January 31, 2007, slaying. After the hearing, Deputy District Attorney Craig Hum said the motive issue remains unresolved, but said authorities suspect drugs played a part. Hum is becoming quite the cliff-related death expert - he is also the prosecutor on the Cameron Brown  and Brandon Manai cases.

Tafoya and Nunez will return to court June 3. We'll have a full report on the preliminary hearing in tomorrow's Daily Breeze.