Representing Yourself in a Criminal Case

Answer:

Representing yourself in a criminal case is very risky and dangerous. I would never recommend that to anybody. At a minimum, you should talk to a lawyer before you consider that. If you’re doing it because you think you’re guilty and you think that the result is going to be the same whether you have a lawyer or not, talk to a lawyer. The fact is, in a high percentage of cases, there are issues that, if asserted, can result in the case being thrown out or could result in the case being reduced. Even if there aren’t those defenses, very often a case can be reduced if the prosecutor feels that you’re going to fight. If you’re representing yourself, it’s nearly impossible to put up a good fight. Secondly, when you talk to a prosecutor, anything you say can be used against you and will be used against you by a lot of prosecutors, even if you’re naive and you’re just trying to be honest and you think being honest will help you; normally, it doesn’t.