A U.S. military judge in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on Monday set Aug. 10 as the tentative date for war-crimes trial of Toronto-born Omar Khadr.

The ruling came after a topsy-turvy morning of legal proceedings in which Khadr tried, unsuccessfully, to fire his court-appointed lawyer.

Khadr began his pre-trial hearing by insisting to the judge, Army Col. Patrick Parrish, that he distrusted the military court process and intended to defend himself. He said there was no chance he would receive a fair trial, regardless of his legal representation, and said he'd fired his court-appointed military lawyer.

"I'm going to get 30 years no matter what," Khadr said.

Then, after a recess, Khadr returned to court to say he intended to boycott his entire trial.

But Parrish refused to allow Khadr to fire Lt.-Col. Jon Jackson. Khadr fired his two American civilian lawyers on Friday.

At the end of the hearing, Jackson said he would consult his bar association in Arkansas to see whether it's ethical to represent someone who doesn't want to be represented.

Exasperated military prosecutors accuse Khadr of trying to make a mockery of the trial process.

Khadr is accused of five charges, the most serious being the murder of an American special forces soldier.

Prosecutors allege Khadr threw a hand grenade that killed Sgt. Chris Speer in Afghanistan in July 2002 when he was 15 years old. He faces a maximum life sentence on conviction.