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mousey musings
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Do-it-yourself defendants -- This interesting study casts some doubt on the maxim that people who represent themselves have fools for clients. It turns out that at least in some court systems in the U.S., pro se defendants actually do better as a group than defendants who are represented by counsel. Even though they are less likely to plead guilty, they are actually more likely to be found not guilty if they go to trial. In other words, defendants without lawyers are less likely to take a plea, less likely to be convicted at trial, and more likely to be found guilty of a lesser offense if actually convicted. Who are the real fools? Those who pay thousands of dollars for inferior outcomes. Of course, it could be that only the guilty (or those who think the case against them is strong) hire attorneys, but at a minimum this result suggests that the average pro se defendant is behaving rationally given his/her circumstances. I hope this study provokes further comparisons of this sort in other states, the federal courts, and between pro se defendants and those represented by public defenders.
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