Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Criminal Law Blogs -> Tennessee Criminal Lawyer Blog

Criminal Law

: Tennessee Criminal Lawyer Blog

Can I Represent Myself?

By Baker Associates

The United States Constitution guarantees a plethora of rights to the accused in criminal trials including rights that have previously been discussed in this blog including the right to remain silent, the right to an attorney, and the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. One right that has not been previously been discussed on this site, however, is the right not to have an attorney. That is, do criminal defendants have the right to represent themselves, also known as proceeding pro se, or can the court force them to have an attorney at trial? The United States Supreme Court took encountered this issue head-on in Faretta v. California in 1975. In Faretta, the defendant was charged with grand theft and a public defender was appointed to represent Faretta at his arraignment...continue to full post

Full post as published by Tennessee Criminal Lawyer Blog on March 24, 2010 (boomark / email).