Evidence reveals people are foolish when they don't use lawyers indefense of serious crimes

Carol Forsloff - That old adage that attorneys quote that to represent
yourself will make you a fool for sure does in fact play out for those
individuals who defend themselves and usually lose when they do.

Clients do this periodically from inside prison or while waiting for

trial on some indictment some place.  In the case of Anthony Pellicano,
convicted in 2008 for wiretapping, Hollywood celebrities are now facing
accusations of involvement related by news stories recently that could
be related to Pellicano's lack of a documented defense from an
established attorney

In 2009  Terrel McCoy was sentenced to 50 years for murder. He decided
to defend himself and got a maximum term just like folks before him.

The news outlet
from South Carolina discussed the case of Terrel McCoy, nicknamed
“Sleazy Boy,” who had fired his attorney after his first trial resulted
in a hung jury. He had been accused of shooting and killing Antwan
Bryant in North Charleston, South Carolina about three years ago. In
March 2006 McCoy turned himself into the police for the crime. On
Friday, February 6 in his second murder trial McCoy was sentenced by
Judge Roger Yound to serve all 50 years for murder.

People involved with court cases are said to
be uncomfortable when they hear about someone who decided to become
his/her own attorney. The Supreme Court decided in 1975 that according
to the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution defendants can become their
own attorneys and take the law into their own hands and represent
themselves.

Anthony Pellicano is someone who has done more
than most in defending himself. He has been on trial for 78 counts
against him. He was accused of having a criminal organization that
earned $2 million by spying on the rich and famous and then giving the
information to their rivals. He faced 20 years in prison at the time he
made his theatrical defenses. The District Judge in the case, Dale
Fisher, showed her unhappiness with Pellicano’s decision at the time to
represent himself by saying, "If the U.S. Supreme Court didn't require
me to let defendants represent themselves, I wouldn't do it," she said.
In 2008 he received a sentence of 15 years for wiretapping, with famous
folks being pulled in for questioning involvingPellicano's activities.

John McTiernan,
convicted of being involved with Pellicano in wiretapping activities,
was sentenced to one year in prison and is appealing it, as reported by
recent news.  The Director of the Pelican Brief and Roller Ball protests
his involvement with the famous fellow who got convicted because he
foolishly spent time defending himself and may have done better early on
had he used proper legal defense from attorneys, is the hypothesis some
folks have used.

Journalist Alex Constantine writes: "Pellicano has more mob connections than J. Edgar Hoover." Pellicano is a detective whois said
to be heavily involved with thugs.  He has been known to be involved in
a high profile cases, or accused of being involved in many of them,
that include the case involving O.J. Simpson and the death of his wife
Nicole.  He is also said to have worked for Michael Jackson on some
private investigative matters.

Are folks like Pellicano really foolish for
deciding to represent themselves when accused of serious crimes?
According to the history of situations like this, he would be better off
with a lawyer. With proper representation he could get a new trial if
his attorney was ineffective.

Sunny Hostin, legal analyst with CNN’s American Morning, wrote about defendants serving
as their own lawyers and maintains that he knows of no case where the
person has done as well or better than having qualified legal
representation.

The following are some of the fools Hostin lists who have taken the route of defending themselves:

• John Allen Muhammad, the "D.C. sniper": He did
his own defense and now from death row is writing to prosecutors for
helping in ending his appeals..
• Dr. Jack Kevorkian: “Dr. Death,” the famous euthanasia doctor went to jail in 1999 for second degree murder of a patient.
• Colin Ferguson: He killed six people on a New
York commuter train and managed to seriously annoy everyone in the
courtroom during his trial.
• Ted Bundy: This serial killer left a string of
murdered women and was finally convicted in Florida of killing sorority
sisters. He was put to death for the crime.
McCoy just added his own name to this list.