Mohammed Taheri-Azar intends to "offer at trial a defense of insanity, mental infirmity and/or diminished capacity," according to a notice filed in Orange County Superior Court Wednesday by Public Defender James Williams.

Taheri-Azar had just graduated from college at UNC-CH a few months before he plowed a rented Jeep Grand Cherokee through a popular campus gathering place around lunchtime on March 3, 2006.

He hit nine people, though none were hurt seriously enough to be kept overnight in the hospital. Minutes later, he calmly called 911 and turned himself in.

Now 24, Taheri-Azar could face life in prison if convicted of the nine counts of attempted first-degree murder and nine counts of felonious assault lodged against him.

A trial date has been tentatively scheduled for March 2008.

Taheri-Azar's court appearances have been marked by bizarre behavior ranging from studied silence where he focused his gaze on a copy of the Koran, to an outburst last March when he called his lawyer a moron and said he hated Americans and Jews. He has written dozens of letters to law enforcement, the media and court officials.

Williams has stated in court before that his client has a severe mental illness.