MONROVIA, Sept. 25 -- For three weeks, the most important document at Jewel Howard-Taylor's home has been a visitors' log.

By Willie N. Tokpa

Every person who passes her gate is written down. Police officers stand watch around the clock. She may step outside only when the court has approved a trip to the hospital in advance. The former vice president, once second in line to lead the country, now needs a judge's permission to see her doctor.

On Thursday, her lawyers went to court hoping to change that. They left with the same restrictions in place and a stinging rebuke from the bench.

By evening, the defense team had gathered in Monrovia to decide what comes next. For lawyers who have shifted strategy more than once in five weeks, the ...