Who doesn’t enjoy a good court TV show every once and a while. Television can cause court cases to seem easy to beat. This misconception of the judicial system gives people that courage to represent themselves in front of a lawyer. Please don’t let this happen to you. Watching television crime shows does not take the place of years of studying law and passing the bar. If you are considering representing yourself at trial instead of visiting https://lawyerexchange.com/, then hopefully the following reasons will help you to change.
Paperwork
Any legitimate case, criminal or civil, requires a ton of documents to be completed and filed. In addition to the documentation that must be completed, there are certain rules and guidelines in tact that dictate how the forms should be filled out and when and where they should be turned in. In the event that a document was not properly filled out of filed at the wrong place or time, then this could cause problems for your case. Such problems could lead to you possibly being convicted.
Lack Of Knowledge
In opposition to what you think, viewing courtroom drama television shows do not equal a college degree in law. These shows were created to entertain you, not provide you with lawful mastery required to contend your case in court with any level of understanding. Lawyers spend years understanding how the court system works, dissecting laws, and discovering defense angles that could possibly assist their future clientele. The other side will likely be prepared for the case. In case you’re confronting a criminal charge, you will go up against a head prosecutor who has years of law experience and knows what laws and evidence to utilize in order to gain a conviction.
No Leniency Given For Your Lack Of Knowledge
It is likely that you have a very limited amount of knowledge when it comes to the law. Though you may represent yourself, the judge expects you to know how to properly defend yourself in the courtroom. If you have a limited amount of knowledge, then you will not get any pity from the judge. The judge understands that lawyers are expensive and he also understands that if a lawyer is too expensive then a lawyer can be appointed to your case. Due to the chances that you have to obtain a lawyer, but reject them, the judge will expect for you to be competent when it comes to defending yourself.
Self-Incrimination
Individuals that decide to represent themselves on the stand create the dangerous possibility of incriminating themselves and the witnesses that they call to the stand to help defend the defendant. When you are arguing your case, you may provide evidence that will help to easily convict yourself or you can bring up speculation about another case.
Emotions
If you are representing yourself then you may become too emotional in the trial. Your emotions may cloud your judgement. As a result, you say things that may incriminate you or you lash out at the judge, which can cause you to be found in contempt of court.