A man who considers protesting Lawrence Police activities to be his full-time job might have to spend some time behind bars.

A judge issued a ruling Monday that, if it stands, requires Dale E. McCormick to serve a 30-day jail sentence for a 2001 conviction for driving with a suspended license.

McCormick, however, said he planned to appeal Douglas County District Judge Robert Fairchild’s decision, and Fairchild agreed to stay the sentence until the appeal was resolved.

“I have no problem serving any sentence that’s legal or legally brought about,” McCormick said. “But when the sentence is not legally brought about, I’ll exercise every legal right I have.”

In his District Court appeal, McCormick claims the conviction is invalid in part because Municipal Judge Randy McGrath forced him to choose between representing himself or using his court-appointed attorney. McCormick, who does not have a law degree but often represents himself in court, wanted to serve as his own counsel in Municipal Court but keep attorney John Frydman on standby.

He also claims the Municipal Court didn’t conduct a proper inquiry into whether he understood his right to have an attorney.

Fairchild, however, wrote that it was within McGrath’s discretion to refuse to allow standby counsel, and he found that McCormick’s waiver of an attorney was “voluntary, knowing, and intelligent.”

McCormick was convicted in June 2001 in Municipal Court of driving on a suspended license. The license was suspended, he said, because he refused to pay an August 2000 traffic ticket that he believed was issued in retaliation for a lawsuit against the Police Department.