There’s an old saying in law that ‘a person who represents himself in court has a fool for a client’.
Former US president and attorney Abraham Lincoln made the statement some 20 years ago but it has become so conical it is repeated many times over in legal circles today.
The quote refers to legal representatives who – blind-sided by their own emotions and subjectivity – achieve a sub-optimal result for themselves in court.
It can also apply to ordinary defendants who represent themselves in court to save on legal costs but make naive mistakes due to a basic knowledge of the law.
Before considering self-representation, even for something that may seem a trivial offence – consider the quote.
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Court rules regarding evidence and court procedure can be complicated.
If you are pleading not guilty, you will usually have to go to court on more than one occasion. This is usually for the ‘reply date’ and the ‘hearing’.
At the mention the magistrate may order the police to serve you with a brief of evidence (documents that make up the evidence against you) and give you a reply date. On the reply date you have to go to court. The magistrate will confirm whether the police have served the brief of evidence and if you still want to plead not guilty.
If the brief has been served and you still want to plead not guilty, the magistrate will set a hearing date.
Before you go to court for the hearing you will need to prepare your case. You should:
- read the brief of evidence, if there is one
- talk to your witnesses
- gather any documents, photos or other evidence
- subpoena documents and witnesses if necessary
- go to court for the reply to the brief of evidence.
The police do not have to provide you with a brief of evidence for some charges. If a brief is not required, then there will be no reply date and the case will be listed straight for hearing.
If you make a mistake you may not get the result that you could have otherwise achieved with a good lawyer.
If you plead guilty, you are telling the court you agree with the charges. You may still have an explanation for the offence, or there may have been ‘mitigating’ circumstances, and you will have the opportunity to tell the magistrate about this.
Different discounts on penalty apply depending on the type of offence you have been charged with and at what stage you have pleaded guilty. You should get legal advice about your specific situation and about what the benefit would be in pleading guilty.
You may not always be aware of all your options and defending yourself in court can also be stressful.
The most common misconception is that Magistrates are there to guide defendants through the court process.
Magistrates will not advise you on how best to proceed with your case or on possible arguments of defence, because they act with full impartiality.
The penalty the magistrate imposes depends on what the law says is the penalty for the particular offence you committed.
However, the magistrate may also:
- find you guilty but not convict you (called a ‘section 10 dismissal’)
- fine you
- put you on a good behaviour bond
- order you to do community service
- give you a term of imprisonment
- make non association and place restriction orders.
In NSW Local Courts a Section 10 dismissal without a conviction recorded is the optimal outcome.
A criminal conviction will permanently impact your life – having dire consequences on your eligibility for professional licences, your ability to apply for certain jobs, and to enter into some countries on holidays.
Different discounts on penalty apply depending on the type of offence you have been charged with and at what stage you have pleaded guilty. You should get legal advice about your specific situation and about what the benefit would be in pleading guilty.
It is a wise decision to contact a good defence lawyer to help you to understand your options.
Contact Carl Edwards Solicitor today: