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Can I Represent Myself?: Rules of Evidence

By Baker Associates

Yesterday?s blog discussed the United States Supreme Court holding in Faretta v. California that a defendant in a criminal trial has a constitutional right to self-representation. Yesterday?s blog also noted that it is very often a bad idea for defendants to forego either hiring an East Tennessee criminal defense attorney or accepting the assistance of a public defender in favor of representing themselves. The reasons for this are plentiful and will be the subject of the next few blogs on this site. One of the primary reasons a defendant should not choose self-representation at trial is that the rules of evidence are extremely complex and often vary depending on the jurisdiction. These rules govern how evidence is introduced and admitted at trial, how witnesses can be questioned, how evidence issues are preserved for appeal, how to qualify witnesses as experts, and a multitude of other evidentiary issues that may arise during a trial...continue to full post

Full post as published by Tennessee Criminal Lawyer Blog on March 25, 2010 (boomark / email).