The Utah Constitution gives every Utah citizen the right to represent themselves in court. (“A judge shall accord to every person who has a legal interest in a proceeding, or that person’s lawyer, full right to be heard according to law. Judicial Canon III b 8). It is called pro se representation. But should you take advantage of that right?
Defendant will represent themselves for various reasons:
• Defendant doesn’t want a lawyer.
• Defendant doesn’t want to hire a lawyer.
• Defendant thinks it will be fun to act like a lawyer.
• Defendant can hire a lawyer, but the crime is so small that they don’t want to pay for a lawyer
• Defendant watches television shows with lawyers and thinks being a lawyer is easy.
• Defendant thinks he knows the rules of the court.
• Defendant is in jail and wants to write her own appeal to the Supreme Court.
Generally, it is a good idea to hire a lawyer. (Hint: when hiring a lawyer, please do your homework. Great criminal defense lawyers will often receive awards and recognition from fellow lawyers, are members in prestigious criminal defense organizations like the American Board of Criminal Lawyers and have extensive trial experience, which is at least 100 jury trials.)
After all, it is a lawyer’s job to know how to navigate the court system. All lawyers go to law school for three years to learn how to be a lawyer, so reading a book on how to represent yourself in court is not a good idea if you’re going up against a prosecutor with years of experience.
However, there are some instances where a person wouldn’t need a lawyer. If someone is charged with a small crime, like a traffic ticket, it might not make sense to hire a lawyer. But if a person is charged with a DUI, they definitely need a lawyer.
To decide whether to hire an lawyer or not, the first thing you should do is find out the maximum punishment for the crime you are charged with. If the punishment is a $50 fine, you probably don’t need an lawyer. But if the punishment is $1,000 and up to six months in jail, you need an lawyer to help you.
A lawyers will know the rules of evidence, how to address everyone in the courtroom, and will know the rules of the court. A judge doesn’t have to explain things to a lawyer as she would with someone representing themselves. Although you may ultimately choose to represent yourself, judges can sometimes be more tolerant with pro se litigants than with lawyers. But that tolerance will only go so far–the judge will know that one party knows the law and the other party thinks they know the law.
