Last week, The Star released an
article outlining how self-represented defendants can cause a
problem for the justice system.
In a majority of the cases, the self-represented individuals
have been found guilty and sentenced. Through the article, their
main focus is cast upon the fairness of the trial when defendants
choose to self-represent, from the opposing counsel, to judges, and
even juries. In addition, there are concerns once the Superior
Court is involved. Everyone will have some type of bias or
influence on someone that decides to self-represent, and it can be
extremely unpredictable as to what each person is thinking and how
it influences the result of the trial.
These influences can vary from the thoughts that the defendant
cannot afford a lawyer, they have some mental health issue, or for
any other reason that may be known to the court as to why they
decided to self-represent. The cases that see the most
self-representation generally occur in the lower
