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Pro se legal representation (/ ˌ p r oʊ ˈ s iː / or / ˌ p r oʊ ˈ s eɪ /) means to argue on one's own behalf in a legal proceeding, as a defendant or plaintiff in civil cases, or a defendant in criminal cases, rather than have representation from counsel or an attorney. The term pro se comes from Latin pro se, meaning "for oneself" or ...
A defendant who is competent to stand trial is therefore also competent to plead guilty, waiving the full panoply of trial rights, [161] but not necessarily competent enough to represent herself at trial in the face of a state procedural rule requiring a higher standard of competence for pro se representation. [162] Prosecutorial misconduct
A criminal defendant may represent himself, unless a court deems the defendant to be incompetent to waive the right to counsel. In Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806 (1975), the Supreme Court recognized a defendant's right to pro se representation. However, under Godinez v.
As stated in Brewer v.Williams, 430 U.S. 387 (1977), the right to counsel "means at least that a person is entitled to the help of a lawyer at or after the time that judicial proceedings have been initiated against him, 'whether by way of formal charge, preliminary hearing, indictment, information, or arraignment. ' " [2] Brewer goes on to conclude that once adversarial proceedings have begun ...
In dealing with the pro se litigant, a judge must remain impartial but ensure that the litigant receives a fair hearing. If the judge does too much to help the party, she risks becoming an advocate; if she does too little, the party is denied the fundamental right to a fair hearing.
The appointment of standby counsel over a pro se defendant's objection was ruled not to be a violation of the defendant's Sixth Amendment right to self-representation as long as the defendant has a fair opportunity to present his case in his own way and standby counsel's unsolicited involvement is kept within reasonable limits in McKaskle v.
Self-representation includes certain specific rights for a defendant to have his opinion heard. "The pro se defendant must be allowed to control the organization and content of his own defense, to make motions, to argue points of law, to participate in voir dire, to question witnesses, and to address the court and the jury at appropriate points ...
The assistance of counsel clause includes, as relevant here, five distinct rights: the right to counsel of choice, the right to appointed counsel, the right to conflict-free counsel, the effective assistance of counsel, and the right to represent oneself pro se. A defendant does not have a Sixth Amendment right to counsel in any civil ...