Legal Questions? / Legal Answers!
Why Shouldn't I Just Represent ( "pro
se" ) Myself In Court
As I mentioned, the intention of this website is not to advise you on how to represent yourself, but to give you some information as to how the Legal System works and give you some ideas as to what to ask your Attorney, and how to help him prepare your case. There are several reasons why you should ALWAYS retain an Attorney and not fight the good fight alone. Please don't think for a minute I didn't use them myself whenever I needed to."
Because I enjoyed the legal aspects of the
Law, my Attorney and the Attorney's of my
family and friends, have always been quiet
happy letting me do most of the "leg
work" while they waited to present their
cases. I spent 21 years arresting people
and writing arrest reports. In my early days
as a Loss Prevention Manager, I used one
way mirrors to observe shoplifters. Mirrors
or walking the floor. That is all we had.
We had no cameras, no recorded tapes. The
report you wrote up, became a large part
of your evidence. Detailing the Who, What,
When, Where, Why, and How of the incident.
That is what won my cases in court back then.
You might not get a court date on your case
for months. Taking the time to write down
the times, dates and events right after they
happened, while they were still fresh in
my mind, helped to re-jog my memory when
I was called as a witness. Your attention
to detail in your reports, really counted
with the Court. Most Judge's found it hard
to dispute the facts, when they had been
written down in a chronological order, right
after they had happened.
I got pretty good at it!
I helped my family and friends in this way
the most. I would interview all involved,
get dates, times, details, any paperwork
that was evidence. I would read the statements
of their witnesses, take out any irrelevant
information, ( nothing to do with the case,
doesn't need to be said or known about.)
read what was written and then take some
notes and ask my own questions. After gathering
what information I believed was relevant,
I put it all in chronological order and typed
it all out. Then I gave it to them to hand
to their Attorney to use. When the witnesses
can remember details, dates and times, they
are always more believable.
"As you know, if you not an Attorney,
you cannot represent anyone but yourself
in a Court Of Law. I could only help my family
or friends get prepared to help their Attorneys
present their case to the court."
I would suggest to all, that if you really
want to help your Attorney win your case.
you should write down EVERYTHING about your
situation. Dates, times, everything I mentioned
above. If you have "witnesses",
get them to do the same thing. I am sure
you don't need to be told how important this
really is. But let me tell you one of the
benefits. When your Attorney and the District
Attorney share "Discovery". Your
Attorney will be able to show the opposing
side a list of the people who witnessed your
situation and what they would be willing
to testify to. The witness statements become part of your
"bargaining chip". You may not even need to call them for
your case... if you plea your case out.
Remember though, if your intention is to
prove you are Not Guilty of the charge. You
will need their testimony See: "Witness, Yours, Mine, Ours."
"Keep in mind, your Attorney may not
have the time to really put into your case.
If they are a court appointed Attorney, then
they were appointed to represent you... for
Free! Taking the time to interview your witnesses,
and writing those statements I mentioned,
will not only show them how serious you are in winning
your case, but how helpful you intend to
be. Do the "work" for your Attorney
and help them win, lose, or plea your case."
The List Goes On And On As To The Reasons
Why Retaining An Attorney Is Always A Good
Idea.
They have better access to the District Attorney.
They understand the legal paperwork involved
and what it says and means.
You may have a more complex case than you
realize.
You may want to appeal the decision, if you
lose your case.
You may not understand what evidence the
District Attorney has, that can be objected
to.
I Do Not Have The Money To Pay For An Attorney.
Am I Just Out of Luck?
If your charge involves any jail time at
all, you can apply for a State Appointed
Attorney. Most State Appointed Attorney's
only ask that you pay for any copy costs,
or any "process server's" costs,
to serve potential witnesses involved with
your case.
If your case does not include jail time,
you may not be entitled to a State Appointed
Attorney. But you can ask the Judge anyway.
If your case is based on just a fine, ( traffic
cases ) you'll probably find.... your on
your own.
If your case involves problems with Rental
Issues, Eviction Problems, Welfare Benefits,
Domestic Violence, or other serious civil
legal problems. Pinetree Legal Assistance may be able to help.
Pinetree Legal Assistance, Ptld ( 1-207-774-8211 - Phone Intake Hours: Mon.
- Thurs. 8:30 A.M. - 12:30 P.M. ) helps low
income people in Mane, with the legal issues
listed above. .
I would suggest the day you get summonsed
or served, to contact them right away. Start
calling on that day. Now I know, they are
difficult to get a hold of. Here is where my advice to "write everything
down" may come in handy. If you just cannot get through, copy all
the paperwork you have on the case. Write
up a brief description on your case, and
also include information on your financial position
as well. Don't forget to include a phone
number that you can be reached at. Put it
all in a large yellow envelope and write
"Pinetree Legal Assistance" on
the envelope. Then jump in your car and head
for their closest office. Go to the receptionist
and tell them you were asked to "drop
this envelope off and no, your not sure who
it goes to." You could also use the
mail, depending on the time frame of your
case.
I have done this and it has worked. - "I'm sure they are going to love the
fact that I mentioned this."
"My thought is: It is easier to review
the case material, make a decision on your
qualifications for help, and get back to
you when they have the time to do so. The
date and time remaining on your court date,
will remind them how important it is to get
back to you."
I would also suggest to keep trying to get
through to them on the phone. If you get
through, you can identify yourself as the
person who sent in the Yellow envelope and
ask if anyone has had a chance to look at
the information.
Another source of legal help is the Maine Volunteer Lawyers Project Ptld. ( 1-207-774-4348 - Ptld callers only / All
Others: 1-800-442-4293 ) Phone Intake Hours:
Mon. & Tues. 9 A.M. - 12 P.M. & 1
P.M. - 4 P.M. - Wed. & Fri. 9 A.M. -12
P.M. - Thurs. 1 P.M. -4 P.M. )
The V.L.P. helps low income people with cases
involving Family Law Matters, including Divorce, Custody,
and Child Support See: Parental Rights And Responsibilities." Consumer Law matters, including Personal
Bankruptcy and Foreclosure. Benefit Matters
including, Unemployment issues, and Social
Security problems. The V.L.P. also helps
in Personal Injury, Real Estate, and Tax
Laws issues. If you qualify, V.L.P. may be
able to help with your custody issues, or
help in lowering your child support payments.
Here is where I have discovered the race
truly begins - "If you are having issues with your
spouse, better half, live in,.... if you
have children you need to keep in mind, that
you both may qualify for this free legal
help. BUT only one, usually the person who
gets there first, gets the help! They cannot
represent you both due to "conflict
of interest.". It has been my experience
that the woman usually gets there first.
I believe it has everything to do with the
fact that the guy usually thinks it will
"blow over" and heads for work.
If you want the help, if you put some real
thought in your situation, if your ego can handle it, CALL FIRST!! If you don't make it first, the options below
can be used."
V.L.P. also has a program called the Courthouse
Assistance Project. This program uses Volunteer
Attorneys, who provide help with family law
matters at the District Courts in Portland,
Biddeford and Lewiston. They have designated
times and days when they are available for
a brief conference about your case... For Free. They are not there to represent you, but to help you with questions. You do
not have to have court, the day you want
to stop in and talk to them. You just need
to show up at the times and dates they list
( Here ) on their website. I will cover this subject
in Parental Rights And Responsibilities.".
V.L.P. doesn't stop there! If you DO want
to represent yourself. ( I know, I said ALWAYS get an Attorney,
but there may be times you just can't. ) VLP has a phone helpline that allows callers
to call and ask questions about family law
issues like divorce, child custody, and child
support. A volunteer lawyer or law student
will give you advice over the telephone.
Phone appointments are scheduled on either
Wednesday evenings from 5:30-8:00 or Friday
afternoons from 1:00-4:00. Remember, they
do not represent you in your case. You will
be representing yourself, but their Helpline
attorney can assist you in understanding
and planning for upcoming court appointments,
filing out court forms and making decisions
about your case. You may also have more than
one phone conversation with the Helpline
Attorney.
My Final Thought...
"If I could give you one bit of advice in
reference to your Attorney it would have
to be: Always Tell Them The Truth! There
is nothing worse than being blind sided in
a courtroom. When you have spent time prepared
to defend your case, and you find during
their witness testimony, your client "forgot
to mention that. Before I helped anyone,
I made it clear that no matter how embarrassing
it may be, no matter how much they didn't
want anyone to know, I needed the truth in
order to help fight their case. Your Attorney
is under Client / Attorney Confidentially
rules. He / She cannot hold the truth against
you, and must put forth every effort to defend
you. No matter what the charge is. They have
to remain unbiased towards your case....
no matter what they know about it. Remember,
You NEED to inform your Attorney of any discrepancies
in any statement you might have made to the
Police." .
If your going to trust the truth with only
one person.... Make it your Attorney!