can someone be their own lawyer in a criminial matter

What is the name of your state?California
If a person is in custody can they act as their own lawyer in a criminal matter?What rights would they have(i.e. investigations , law books,???)
Is acting as your own lawyer refered as "pro per"

angi71 said:

What is the name of your state?California
If a person is in custody can they act as their own lawyer in a criminal matter?What rights would they have(i.e. investigations , law books,???)
Is acting as your own lawyer refered as "pro per"

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Yes, they can act as their own attorney and they would have the same rights as another attorney to a great extent. There ARE limitations, however ... access to some information and witnesses might be restricted in some way depending on the nature of the case and you.

Although I can't think of a single instance in my career where I have heard of a pro per defendant actually winning a serious criminal case.

- Carl

angi71 said:

What is the name of your state?California
If a person is in custody can they act as their own lawyer in a criminal matter?

**A: yes.
***
Is acting as your own lawyer refered as "pro per"

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**A: no, pro lame.

I agree. Representing yourself is a horrible idea and increases your chances of getting convicted. Invariably the defendant makes a fool of himself in front of the jury, by making objections that have no basis, and asking questions that can't be asked. Would you fix your own car if you were not a mechanic? Thinking you can represent yourself better than a lawyer is pure arrogance.

Jeesh

Reading your posts ang... you either live in a soap opera... or... well I do not want to contemplate the or...
Of course you have heard the old saying. " He who represents himself has a fool for a client and an idiot for a lawyer."

besides you were all over this board trying to find out what "malicious prosecution' is... if is you trying to do Pro Per... oh how I would love to be the prosecuter. Or at least a fly on the wall of that court room.

angi71 said:

What is the name of your state?California
If a person is in custody can they act as their own lawyer in a criminal matter?What rights would they have(i.e. investigations , law books,???)
Is acting as your own lawyer refered as "pro per"

Click to expand...

Sure you can be your own attorney.

Mens rea.

What does it mean?

What laws require and what laws do not?

ENASNI dont jump to conclusions,

the only stupid question is one that dosent get asked.So you should try asking one instead of contemplating my life, because belive me its no soap, its very boaring actually.

ack ( no soap radio)

angi71 said:

the only stupid question is one that dosent get asked.So you should try asking one instead of contemplating my life, because belive me its no soap, its very boaring actually.

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Angi... If there be Boars around I would certainly make sure you had soap in your life.

boar ( P ) Pronunciation Key (bôr, br)
n.

An uncastrated male pig.
The adult male of any of several mammals, such as the beaver, raccoon, or guinea pig.
The wild boar.


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[Middle English bor, from Old English br.]
Source
Dictionary.com

is this a real question.

only a person with a degree in juris prudis should attempt to defend them selves. unless you are talking about a parking ticket. remember only a fool would throw him/herself to the wolves.

ok ,ok,i get the picture

Calm down everybody i am not acting as my own lawyer,It was just a question.What do you think...I'm crazy(dont answer that )you dont need to lose any sleep,you have nothing to fear ,your jobs are safe I do thank you for the opinions though ,Are there any web sites i can find more info on the topic.

You still don't get it. What kind of website? How to learn the law in 10 easy lessons? Lawyering for dummies?

umm

How I got 10 to 20 with only fifteen words to the Judge
by B. B. Butnotme .
Available at B & N

As a lawyer, I highly recommend representing yourself as much as possible. Not only does it provide endless fodder for my future stand-up comedy routine, it makes my job 1000x easier when I have to go up against someone who has no clue what they're doing (which, admittedly, also applies to some of the other lawyers around here).

This goes double in criminal trials where the only penalty is some lousy jail time. I mean, cmon, it's just jail, right? Not like you have to pay money or something important!