canflam

Here's info from nolo.com in that regard:


Your Right to Represent Yourself in a Criminal Case
You must be legally "competent" before a judge will allow you to represent yourself in a criminal trial.

Defendants cannot represent themselves unless a judge determines that they are competent to do so. The community as a whole has an interest in achieving justice, and a trial in which an incompetent defendant self-represents isn't a fair one.

Competency to Represent Yourself

The case that established that defendants have a right to represent themselves was Faretta v. California, U.S. Sup. Ct. 1975. The Faretta case said that a judge must allow self-representation if a defendant is competent to understand and participate in the court proceedings.

"Pro Se" and "Pro Per"

Judges and lawyers typically refer to defendants who represent themselves with the terms "pro se" or "pro per," the latter being taken from “in propria persona.” Both "pro se" and "pro per" come from Latin and essentially mean “for one’s own person.”

To determine competence, the judge often weighs factors such as:

the defendant’s age
the defendant’s level of education
the defendant’s familiarity with English, and
the seriousness of the crime with which the defendant is charged.

No single factor determines the result, and a defendant doesn’t need the legal skills of a professional lawyer to qualify for self-representation. As long as a defendant is competent, knowingly gives up the right to an attorney, and understands court proceedings, the defendant is entitled to self-represent.

It's critical to note, though, that the fact that one can self-represent doesn't mean that one should. Almost everyone who works in the criminal justice system agrees that self-representation is normally a bad idea, in no small part because the defendant usually lacks anything near the necessary training and experience.

Example: Ella Mental is charged with burglary. Ella has only a grade school education, and she has been in and out of mental institutions for much of her life. Ella tells the judge that she wants to represent herself in the burglary case. The judge allows Ella to do so, on the ground that Ella has been convicted of various crimes three times in the past and is thus familiar enough with criminal law to represent herself. Ella goes to trial, and her questions to prosecution witnesses are garbled and for the most part ruled improper by the judge. Ella is convicted. The judge should not have allowed Ella to represent herself. The mere fact that Ella has three prior convictions does not demonstrate that she is capable of knowingly giving up her right to an attorney and representing herself. In view of her limited education, her history of mental problems, and her inability to participate meaningfully in the trial, the judge should have ignored Ella’s wishes and appointed a lawyer to represent her.

Example: Lexi Khan is charged with assault and battery, and wants to represent herself. Lexi speaks English, but English is her second language and she has trouble understanding some words. She also has trouble reading a law book that the judge asks her to read. In the arraignment court, Lexi refused to enter a plea, and repeatedly said that the whole system is biased and that she wanted nothing to do with it. Over Lexi’s objection, the judge appoints an attorney to represent her. Taking all the circumstances into account, the judge properly exercised discretion when denying Lexi’s request for self-representation. In view of Lexi’s language difficulties and refusal to participate in the arraignment proceedings, Lexi is not capable of representing herself at trial in a meaningful way.

Example: Dane Gerous is charged with aggravated sexual assault, and asks to represent himself. The judge’s questioning reveals that Dane did not finish high school,and has no previous legal experience. However, Dane accurately summarizes the charge that he is facing. Also, when the judge reads a statute to Dane, he is able to explain what it means in his own words. The judge should allow Dane to represent himself. The charge is serious, and the judge may believe that Dane would be better off with a lawyer. However, Dane has demonstrated sufficient ability to understand and participate in the proceedings, and thus he has a right to represent himself.

Competency to Stand Trial

Whether a defendant is mentally competent to stand trial is a different issue. A time-honored principle in American law holds that we should not subject someone to trial who lacks the capacity to understand the nature and purpose of the legal proceedings against him, to consult with his lawyer, or to help in the preparation of his defense. Someone who is competent to stand trial is oriented as to time and place, and has a reasonable degree of rational understanding. (18 U.S.C.A. § 4241.)

A judge has the power to decide that a defendant is mentally competent to stand trial, yet not competent enough to represent himself (Indiana v. Edwards, U.S. Sup. Ct. 2008).

fly me to the moon

Ahh, thanks for that info.. Plus I wonder if that apply to every court around USA.. I mean, so far, I don't think anyone ever do that??

Elif_ZV

oh I see that's how it works in USA. it's different in my country. I forgot every country has it's own legal rules

I want to watch another crime/detective/mystery kind of documentary. I've seen Staircase, Making A Murderer, Real Detective, The Confession Tapes and The Keepers so far

fly me to the moon

^ I never pay attention except the one I live in when it comes to laws/rules since I always tho that every states have different one..

Alexa

this one was good but confusing. i can see on both sides.

My Kind Of Crazy

canflam

I started watching ''The Staircase'', but have many more episodes to see. I want to see ''Icarus'', ''When They See Us'', & will give ''Abducted in Plain Sight '' a try.

Karma Police

When They See Us is a very tough watch but it's a must see imo.

fly me to the moon

And it was important for them to tell their story..

Karma Police

I just read an interview The New York Times did with the five men and the actors playing them.

fly me to the moon

Yeah and I know that one of news from channel 11 did interview w/ them in recently.. Plus I'm glad that they start to check on Linda now since she deleted her social media..

Karma Police

She also resigned as a board member from several organizations/institutions. She never should have been considered for those in the first place though. Safe Horizon is a non-profit which serves mostly minorities, so it's especially infuriating that she was a board member there.

fly me to the moon

Which that was so crazy.. I was like umm how?!?!? Even tho I read one of person who investigate and they found some case that she hidden them since she was mostly again of minorities, but how can others don't see that??

Karma Police

I read today that there are protests scheduled to demand all her cases to be reopened.

fly me to the moon

Yup and I wouldn't be surprise that they will do that since I know that NY can able to do that..