A Fool for a Client: Difference between revisions
→Real Life: added examples
Looney Toons (talk | contribs) (replace redirect, potholes) |
(→Real Life: added examples) |
||
Line 94:
* Comedian Lenny Bruce defended himself in several obscenity trials.
* In the late 1980s, in the largest organized crime trial in U.S. history, low level mobster Jackie DiNorscio decided to stand trial rather than rat out other members of the Luchesse Crime Family and decided to represent himself because he was "disappointed" in his prior legal representation. Despite a lack of any tangible legal knowledge, and despite angering both the prosecution, the judge, and ''the other defense attorneys'' (and their clients, the other mobsters) with his [[Courtroom Antics]], he was eventually found not-guilty.
** This is loosely portrayed in the film ''[[Find Me Guilty]]'', starring [[Vin Diesel]] as Jackie DiNorscio.
* Serial killer Ted Bundy acted as his own attorney in his 1980 trial. The judge complimented him on doing a good job, in fact, and commented that Bundy might have made a good attorney. Even so, he wasn't good enough to keep himself out of the electric chair.
* When [[Dave Barry]] [[The Trouble with Tickets|got a ticket for driving on an expired registration]], he decided to represent himself before the court with the "strategy" of groveling. He ended up paying a fine.
Line 102:
* David Irving represented himself in his libel suit against Deborah Lipstadt for calling him a holocaust denier. It was not a great success.
* [http://asianhistory.about.com/od/profilesofasianleaders/p/fmarcosbio.htm Ferdinand Marcos] was once accused by taking part in a politically motivated assassination. Long story short he represented himself and won. He would continue on to become the President of the Philippines before implementing martial law and becoming a dictator. He was removed from power following the People Power Revolution (Also known as the EDSA revolution) in 1986.
* Self representation is relatively common occurrence among multi-murderers with overwhelming, indisputable evidence against them and no realistic defense options, since life in prison as a mandatory minimum gives them no incentive to plea and nothing to lose they decide to (as far as anyone can determine) give the world one last middle finger.
** Ronnie Oneal III, who murdered his daughter, then her mother while she was on call with 911, tried to kill his son, and set fire to their house represented himself sporting a ridiculous "coral" hairstyle and mainly used the trial to yell at witnesses (and everyone else), including the surviving son. While noting his behavior in court was "disgraceful" and that the case would haunt her for the rest of her life, the Judge also acknowledged Oneal ''could'' have been a good lawyer.
** Darrell Brooks, who drove an SUV into a Christmas parade killing six and injuring several others, fired his public defenders and represented himself. Brooks's legal strategy consisted of nonsensical claims found to have originated on an online "Sovereign Citizen" pamphlet and vague allusions to the potential the collisions weren't intentional<reg>Unlike intentional murders, accidental killings in Wisconsin ''could'' result in a less-than-life sentence and thus claiming it as such would be a valid legal tactic, so legal commentators were baffled by his underemphasis of this point.</ref>. He also made the choice to appear in his prison jumpsuit and chained to the floor during the prosecution's case, repeatedly refusing explicit offers by the court to be able to wear normal clothes, only to reverse his choice during his defense, and was removed from court multiple times for outbursts. Legal commentators believed he was treating his self representation as a game.
{{reflist}}
| |||