The U.S. Constitution entitles criminal defendants to an
attorney to assist the defendant in
his or her defense. That wording is important, and rests on the idea that it’s
actually the defendant who will be defending himself, and his lawyer will
simply be helping him along in the process. Perhaps this was actually how it
worked when the Constitution was drafted – court procedure may have been much
more simple back then. These days, however, the notion that a criminal
defendant actually conducts his own defense is (except when the defendant is
representing himself) a legal fiction.
Generally, it is the lawyer who takes the lead role in a
defense, or any other legal proceeding, and with good reason: lawyers
understand court procedure, and what does and doesn’t fly in a courtroom. When
non-lawyers try to take the reins, we sometimes get hilarious
results.
Other times, however, the results are just sad and vaguely
disturbing (more details here).
In that story, from the ABA Journal, a man was suing a police department,
alleging that he had been wrongfully arrested and detained. So far, so good.
Every once in a while, wrongful arrests happen, and it’s great that we live in
a country where people can seek redress for such injustices.
But this person didn’t choose to exercise his rights wisely.
After the judge in his case issued a ruling that he didn’t like, he sent an
email to the judge threatening to kill him, and other judges in the area.
He was convicted of threatening a federal judge, and
attempting to corruptly influence a judge’s decisions, and now faces up to 15
years in federal prison.
I’ve said before in this blog that litigation can be an
emotionally and financially draining process. Sometimes, when a case doesn’t go
a party’s way, the temptation can be to lash out, and blame anything, other
than the merits of the case itself. When a person feels they’ve been wronged,
it can be like a kick in the gut to have a judge tell them that, no, they
haven’t been. Unfortunately, sometimes the law doesn’t nicely dovetail with
everybody’s feelings of what the law should be.
If you really have a problem with something that a court has
done, it’s best to make your concerns known through your attorney. There are
many, many reasons for this.
First of all, your attorney will be able to tell you right
off if your concern is one that the court can actually do something about.
Judges often expect litigants to resolve minor procedural disputes amongst
themselves, and really don’t like it when they’re forced to decide such issues.
They rightfully view it as a waste of the court’s limited time. Your lawyer
might suggest another way to go about getting what you want that doesn’t
involve getting on the judge’s bad side.
Second, your lawyer will be able to frame your objection,
request, or other concern with the court in a manner that is most likely to be
successful, without doing anything improper that might land you in jail. Most
people consider not being in jail a good thing.
Finally, and most importantly, your lawyer will be able to make the best possible argument on your behalf. At the very least, it will be more effective than a death threat sent to the judge.
By: Rusty Shackleford
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