As jury selection began in federal court in Salt Lake City, U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball booted Brian David Mitchell after listening to him sing hymns softly for a half-hour, according to reports. Mitchell, a self-proclaimed Utah prophet, has been removed from courtrooms in the past for loudly singing and quoting scriptures.
For now, Mitchell, 57, will watch court proceedings on video from another room in the courthouse. Charges against him include the kidnapping and sexual assault of Smart when she was 14 years old.
Also on Monday, the judge rejected the defendant's request to wear the robes he was wearing when he was arrested in 2003.
Smart is expected to appear in court, and made plans to fly back to Utah this weekend from her Mormon mission in Paris to testify against Mitchell.
"Elizabeth will be glad to see it all coming to an end," her father, Ed Smart, told PEOPLE. "We'll all be there to support her in court. This whole thing has dragged on ridiculously long."
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