Last week, The Star released an article outlining how self-represented defendants can cause a problem for the justice system.
In a majority of the cases, the self-represented individuals have been found guilty and sentenced. Through the article, their main focus is cast upon the fairness of the trial when defendants choose to self-represent, from the opposing counsel, to judges, and even juries. In addition, there are concerns once the Superior Court is involved. Everyone will have some type of bias or influence on someone that decides to self-represent, and it can be extremely unpredictable as to what each person is thinking and how it influences the result of the trial.
These influences can vary from the thoughts that the defendant cannot afford a lawyer, they have some mental health issue, or for any other reason that may be known to the court as to why they decided to self-represent. The cases that see the most self-representation generally occur in the lower level courts, rather than the Superior Court level. However, if this was to occur at the Superior Court level, where very serious charges are deliberated, it is rare to see this occur.
If it does, they typically appoint lawyers as amicus curiae – or otherwise known as an impartial advisor, to make legal arguments, or even cross-examinations as if they were the lawyer for the defence. However, this can also cause problems as the lawyer is not able to fully participate and present a full defence for them, and it comes down to the defendant and their willingness to co-operate with the appointed lawyer in the Superior Court.
Not only will lawyers have trouble with the case, but juries also are unpredictable when they take notice of the self-representation. Many people may judge it negatively, or take their duty as a juror more seriously as a result – the verdict means a lot more than it did previously.
In the end, sometimes these trials become fair, and sometimes they are not fair. In my mind, having a lawyer is always a better choice than going in on your own – no matter how much you know about law or the legal system. You cannot determine how the other individuals deciding your fate will act – even up to the judge and Crown.
The courts will always go as far as they can to allow a fair trial, but they also do not want to interfere with the freedoms of individuals as they have the right to self-represent if they choose. As they are seeing a rise in self-representation in civil and family courts, it will be something that will be an unpredictable and uncontrollable problem the courts will face. It will be interesting to see if there are any actions taken to limit self-representation so that those individuals do not write their ticket before given the chance to defend themselves.
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