Bob Bashara, wearing a suit in Third Circuit Court early Thursday, continually wrote during his brief hearing--to the point the judge asked what he was doing. Bashara paused momentarily and answered the judge, saying he was making some notes for himself.

That was essentially the only time he spoke, addressed the judge or looked at the judge. Bashara is charged wtih solicitation of murder. He is accused of paying someone to kill Joe Gentz, the man charged with first degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the strangulation death of Bashara's late wife, Jane Bashara.

Gentz has told investigators that he was hired by Bashara to kill Jane Bashara. Bob Bashara was arrested five months after her body was found in Detroit on the solicitation charge related to Gentz.

The Basharas lived in Grosse Pointe Park.

Judge Bruce Morrow set a trial date of Nov. 12 after checking the calendars of the attorneys. He originally wanted a date in October, but Bashara's new attorney, Mark Kriger, said he would be in a federal court trial then.

They settled on Nov. 12 and then both sides discussed briefly some procedural topics. Deputy prosecutors Robert Moran and Lisa Lindsey said they have turned over all of their discovery to Kriger but noted they have not yet received anything from him. 

They also told the judge they anticipate a complete witness list soon but at a minimum it would be submitted at least 30 days before the trial.

Bashara continued taking notes after the hearing technically ended and then spoke briefly with Kriger before being escorted out of the courtroom by Wayne County Sheriff's deputies.

The attorneys talked with Morrow at the bench for a few minutes after Bob Bashara's departure about procedure. Kriger declined comment afterward, offering only that Bob Bashara is holding up as well as can be expected given the circumstances.

He declined to comment about whether there is another pending case likely ahead for Bashara. The conspiracy charge against Gentz suggests another person was involved in Jane Bashara's death but no one else has been charged in her death. Bob Bashara was named a person of interest in the days following the discovery of her body.

Meanwhile, Joe Gentz is awaiting his preliminary exam, which had been scheduled for earlier this month. It was adjourned until October. An exact date has not yet been determined.

He was arrested in March and has since undergone two competency to stand trial evaluations. He was found competent in both evaluations. He had been doing handyman work at the many rental properties owned by Bob Bashara, which is how the two met.