How to Be Your Own Defender in Court

2024 Author: Jason Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 10:50

Unless your case is a minor dispute, or you're fighting someone else who isn't represented by a lawyer either, defending yourself in court is very difficult and carries a high risk of failure. Most people who represent themselves in court, especially against those represented by lawyers, fail to win cases. If you are forced to defend yourself, you must prepare your defense, fully understand court procedures, and provide evidence and witnesses at each stage of the trial. Even though it's difficult, there's a lot you can do to get the best chance of winning your case.

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Part 1 of 3: Going through the Legal Process as a Pro Se Defender

Step 1. Understand the legal terms for each party involved in a case

You should learn the legal terms that refer to each party involved in litigation. The judge or attorney of the opposing party will refer to each party by its legal term. The parties involved include:

The term pro se refers to a person or group of people who are involved in a civil or criminal law case but are not represented by a lawyer. If you are preparing a defense for yourself in a legal case, you will be called a pro se defender.
Plaintiff is a person or group of people who file a civil lawsuit (legal case due to material loss) to another person or a company. If you are involved in a civil law case, not a criminal law case (the differences are explained below), the plaintiff is the person who brought the lawsuit against you. The plaintiff may or may not be represented by an attorney.
Prosecutors are lawyers who represent the state in a criminal law case.
In a civil law case, the plaintiff sues a person who, according to him, has harmed himself in one or more ways, resulting in a loss. There are many different types of civil lawsuits that can be brought, such as personal injury, divorce, discriminatory acts, or breach of contract.
In criminal law cases, the prosecution presents evidence to a judge (or to a jury, in the US court system) in an attempt to prove that the person accused (in this stage the defendant) of committing a criminal offense did indeed violate the criminal law. The judge or jury accepts the evidence and defense provided, and then decides whether the prosecution has provided sufficient evidence to show that the defendant is guilty of violating the criminal law.

Step 2. Understand the applicable judicial regulations in your location

Each region has judicial regulations and procedures that must be obeyed by every party involved in a legal case. The following is some useful information to know about each level of court and its explanation, which applies in Indonesia.

Court of first instance, or District Court has the legal power of a court covering one district/city, and its function/authority is to examine and decide, in accordance with the provisions stipulated in the law, in particular regarding the legality of arrest, detention, termination of investigation, or termination of prosecution, as well as compensation and / or rehabilitation for someone whose case is terminated at the level of investigation or prosecution.
Court of second instance, or High Court has legal power covering one province. Its function/authority is to be the leader of the district courts within its jurisdiction, to supervise the proceedings of the judiciary within its jurisdiction and to ensure that the judiciary is completed thoroughly and properly, as well as to supervise and examine the actions of the district court judges in its jurisdiction. For the interest of the state and the judiciary, the High Court may give warnings, warnings and instructions as deemed necessary to the District Court within its jurisdiction.
Supreme Court is the holder of the highest state court domiciled in the capital city of the Republic of Indonesia or in other places that have been determined by the President. Each division within the Supreme Court is headed by a young chairman formed from several Member Judges. The function of the Supreme Court is as the pinnacle of all courts and as the highest court for all judicial circles and provides leadership to the courts concerned, carries out the highest supervision of the judicial process in all judicial circles throughout Indonesia and ensures that the judiciary is carried out carefully and fairly, and monitor carefully all the actions of judges in all judicial circles. In the interest of the state and justice, the Supreme Court shall issue warnings, reprimands, and instructions deemed necessary, either in separate letters or in circulars, to court institutions under its auspices.
Know the rules and procedures that apply at each level and location of the court in your legal case. Do some research on the Internet or contact the judiciary to inquire about the exact location of the trial and the rules and procedures that apply, for example when it comes to filing a legal case or evidence. Most courts provide this kind of information.

Step 3. Seek the services of a lawyer if you are involved in a criminal law case

Article 54 in the Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP) states that for the purpose of defense, a suspect or defendant is entitled to legal assistance from one or more legal advisers during the time and at each level of examination, according to the procedure specified in the law. this. In addition, for suspects or defendants who are unable to afford it, the state provides free legal aid services by a lawyer appointed by the state. If this criminal law case contains the possibility of a prison sentence of 15 years or more or the death penalty, the suspect or defendant must be accompanied by a lawyer (Article 56 of the Criminal Procedure Code). If you have the option of being represented by an attorney or representing yourself as a defense, you should always seek the services of an attorney.

Step 4. Determine if you can afford to hire a lawyer in a civil law case

One of the reasons people choose to represent themselves as defense lawyers in court is that they cannot afford the services of a lawyer. If this is also your reason for deciding to become your own defense, first find out if there are other, lower-cost or even free ways to get legal assistance from a lawyer, to assist you in preparing your defense or directly handling the entire case process. this. Here are some ways to find the services of a lawyer at a more affordable or free cost:

Contact your local attorney's association and ask how to apply for the low-cost or free legal aid available to people who can't afford it. In Indonesia, the Indonesian Advocates Association (AAI) has a website that is equipped with "Helpdesk" and "Contact Us" features that you can use to inquire about this need. You can visit the AAI website at
Contact the Legal Aid Institute (LBH) operating at the location of your legal case. LBH often provides low-cost or free legal aid to people who cannot afford to hire their own lawyers. You can find the location of LBH in various regions in Indonesia by independent research on the Internet, by mentioning the location of your legal case and the keyword “LBH”.
You can also contact law schools at various universities and ask if there is free legal aid available for you there.

Part 2 of 3: Defending Yourself in a Civil Court

Step 1. Prepare an answer to the lawsuit brought against you

A civil lawsuit begins when someone files a lawsuit and sends you a lawsuit. If you have received a civil suit letter, you must decide quickly whether and how you will respond. Immediately after receiving the lawsuit, study the letter. The letter will detail the lawsuit brought against you. In addition to the lawsuit, you will receive a letter of claim, which is a document that states that you are being sued and explains how and when you will respond.

In general, you have 30 days to respond to a lawsuit, starting from the date you receive the lawsuit.
In order to respond, you must submit a response letter. If you don't file a response letter before the stated deadline, you run the risk of facing trial considerations that are more favorable to the plaintiff, namely the "verstek" decision (a decision without the presence of the defendant).
To file a response letter, contact the judiciary that handled the case against you and request a response form. You can usually find this sheet online, but if not, go to the courthouse in person and ask for the form there.
Your response will contain a direct response to the plaintiff's claim. For each paragraph of the lawsuit, you can respond by denying, admitting, or stating that you do not have sufficient information to answer.
Once you have completed completing the response form, you must pay a response fee and send the response form to the claimant. Be aware of the applicable regulations in your location regarding the fees for submitting this response. In order to send a response form to the claimant, you must ask someone who has absolutely no involvement in this legal case to submit it to the claimant.

Step 2. Consider filing a counterclaim

In addition to filing a response, you can also file a counterclaim, which means you're suing the person who sued you. Counterclaims can only be filed if your claim relates to a legal case that has been brought against you previously. You must file a counterclaim at the same time as filing a response. Otherwise, you will lose your legal right to file your claim later.

To file a counterclaim, request the applicable form in the same way you requested the counter form. Counterclaim forms usually contain an explanation column that you must complete regarding the cause of your counterclaim claim and the reasons you think that the court should have granted your counterclaim.
For example, if you are sued for damages due to an injury caused by a car accident, even though you also have an injury that you think is the result of the plaintiff's fault, you can file a counterclaim in the form of a claim in respect of the damages that must be borne by that party.

Step 3. Research any applicable laws and regulations

In order to defend yourself in court, you must understand the lawsuit or lawsuit brought against you and prepare your legal defense. This requires the ability to research all laws and regulations relating to your legal case and devise the best strategy to defend yourself based on the lawsuit brought by the plaintiff. Get legal information at the following sources:

Public libraries in your location, especially those designated as law libraries. To find the location of your local public library, do some online research with the name of your city or county and the keywords “law library” and “open to the public”. Then, ask the librarian for help in identifying sources of legal information that suit your needs.
Online sources of information on laws and regulations in your location, for example https://jdihn.bphn.go.id/?page=peraturan&section=produk_ Hukum&act=jdih or
You can also use legal websites that are freely available to access to find legal information that can be useful to support your defense.

Step 4. Go through the discovery process

After submitting a response, a legal process called discovery begins. During the discovery stage, each party has the opportunity to request information from the opposing party for the purpose of studying the strengths and weaknesses of the case. During this stage, you can gather facts, obtain witness statements, ask the opposing party's statements, and assess how strong each party's claims are in the ongoing case.

You can carry out an informal discovery process by conducting self-interviews, collecting relevant documents from public agencies, and taking photos.
You can also perform the official discovery process in the form of a process:
- Interrogative, i.e. you ask a number of written questions that the other party must answer,
- Deposition, which is a formal interview between you and the other party who played an important role in the case,
- Document application, namely an official application for certain required documents,
- Application for confession, which is a specific direct question to the opposing party which must be answered with a confession or rebuttal,
- Subpoena, which is a court order for the counterparty to provide you with certain information.

Step 5. Comply with all attendance obligations

Prior to the trial, you will be required to attend at least one pretrial meeting. In the California region of the US, this meeting is called a case management conference (CMC), which means "case management meeting". In pre-trial, you and the opposing party will meet with the judge and discuss the handling of the case. Here are things you should prepare for pre-trial:

the possibility of peace for the settlement of cases,
your readiness for trial scheduling,
an explanation of the discovery process that has been or is still in progress, and
your willingness to accept new things that were not previously included in the lawsuit material.

Step 6. Reject any submission of a decision without going through the trial process

In most cases, the opposing party will try to make a decision without going through the trial process, which actually states that the facts in this case are indisputable as requiring a judge's decision in accordance with the opposing party's claim without trial. You must respond to this request immediately. For example, if your case is in the Nevada region of the US, the deadline for your response to a non-trial submission is ten days.

In order to respond to this application, you will need to submit your own application in the form of an explanation to the court of the reasons that the decision without going through the trial process cannot be granted. You must be able to show the factual questions that exist, and that the judge or jury does need to decide the case through the trial process. Your application must contain sufficient information that a judge or jury has the possibility to pass a ruling in your favor at trial. To do so, you must present evidence to support your application, based on the information you have gathered in the discovery process.
Usually, you can get a response form for this decision from the website of the relevant judicial institution. Fill in the form completely and accurately, and attach all required documents.

Step 7. Try to reach an out-of-court dispute resolution agreement

Before the trial date, meet with the opposing party and try to make an agreement that is beneficial to both parties, so that you don't have to go into the trial process. For example, in the California region of the US, the parties to a civil law dispute are required to meet before the trial, with the aim of agreeing to settle the lawsuit. This kind of agreement meeting can also be done voluntarily.

During the deal meeting, you and the other party will also meet a neutral third party. Throughout the meeting, you will discuss the possibility of agreement and peace with all parties. A neutral third party will not make any decisions, but will only help state the strengths and weaknesses of your case.
Reaching an amicable settlement in a case can save time, as you don't have to go through the trial process. Plus, this kind of deal also saves you money, because you don't have to pay court fees, witness fees, or take time off from work. Ultimately, agreeing to make peace before trial will give you more control over the outcome of the lawsuit, because you're not leaving the verdict in the hands of the judge or jury alone.

Step 8. Prepare for trial

If all of the above steps fail, you will have to go through the trial process. Before the trial date, make sure that you are adequately prepared and feel confident in your defense strategy. To do so:

Make sure that you have prepared all the evidence, which must be in the form of witness statements or evidence. When preparing evidence, make sure that you organize everything so that it is easily accessible and shown at a later trial. Arrange all the evidence in the order in which you will present it to the court. In addition, you should have prepared witnesses, so that they know the questions you will be asking and which the other party may ask.
Also make sure that you are aware of the applicable regulations regarding evidence. It's true that no one, including lawyers, can know all the details of the existing regulations, but you should still try to understand the basic rules, so that you are ready to face trial. The rules on evidence determine the manner, reasons, and timing of the submission of evidence to trial. The regulation was made so that courts receive only reliable, relevant and accurate information.

Step 9. Attend the hearing

When the D-day of the trial arrives, make sure that you arrive at the court building earlier than trial hours and are ready to attend the trial. When your case is called for trial, come to the door of the courtroom fully prepared. In general, you will be required to do the following:

Deliver an opening statement, which is your opportunity to present the facts in your case and state the main points you will prove during the trial. You should draft and write this opening statement ahead of time, as part of your preparation for trial. See an example of an opening statement (in English) at https://www.nysd.uscourts.gov/file/forms/representing-yourself-at-trial. In addition, emphasize the evidence you will present and the testimony of the witnesses you will hear.
Cross-examine witnesses. The plaintiff must provide a list of witnesses' identities before the D-Day of the trial and you need to be prepared to cross-examine each witness during the trial. During this cross-examination, you need to make the judge or jury doubt the truth or accuracy of the witness testimony. Here are the things you need to keep in mind during cross-checking:
- Ask directly with questions that lead the witness so that you minimize the opportunity to provide further explanation of the answer.
- Do not give the impression that you are "cornering" the witness, so that the judge or jury will not sympathize with the opposing party.
- If a witness changes his testimony, use his deposition testimony to show that the witness gave inconsistent testimony. This may be successful in getting the judge or jury to decide that their entire testimony cannot be used in the trial process.
- If a witness has been rude and has personally expressed negative sentiments about your case, you need to highlight this bias in him, so that the judge or jury understands that his testimony may not be fully reliable for use in the trial process.
Present your defense. After the plaintiff has submitted his complaint in court, you will be given the opportunity to call witnesses and present evidence to support your defense. The plaintiff must defend his suit in order to win the case, and therefore the burden is now on the plaintiff, who must present sufficient evidence to satisfy legal requirements and convince a judge or jury.
File an objection. During the trial, the opposing party's attorney may present evidence or question witnesses in ways that are not permitted by the trial rules. You need to object to these kinds of violations. Do this by saying, “I object” and then provide a legal basis for your objection.
Submit a closing statement. After completing your defense, you will be given the opportunity to present a closing statement to the judge or jury. Since the plaintiff must prove his case in order to win, you will need to reiterate your version of the facts of the case and refer to the evidence to support your assertion. Your closing statement should be short and to the point, so that the judge or jury can easily follow your argument. To end it, have the judge or jury decide you're not guilty.

Part 3 of 3: Defending Yourself in a Criminal Court

Step 1. Be actively involved in reading your demands

The first time you have to represent yourself in a criminal trial is at the reading of the charges. At the hearing, the court will tell you what charges you have, what your constitutional rights are, and that you have the right to be represented by an attorney. Once the judge has addressed all of this, you will be given the opportunity to respond to the complaint with a “request” statement. You must respond with a “not guilty”, “guilty”, or “indeterminate” statement. In most cases, you will of course declare yourself “not guilty” and ask the prosecution to enter into the trial process and prove their claim in this case. However, in certain situations, especially if you have reached an agreement in the negotiation process with the prosecution, you may find yourself “guilty” or “undecidable”.

If you have been detained pending a hearing, you will also be given the opportunity to discuss bail options. Judges usually have the power to release you on certain bail from you, set a bail rate, keep you back in prison until you finish a certain period of detention, or refuse to set a bail rate and keep you in prison without the possibility of release

Step 2. Request evidence from the prosecution

After reading the lawsuit, you will exchange information with the claimant. This process is called discovery. Prosecutors are usually required to provide you with certain information, in order to ensure that the trial process will be fair and balanced, as the situation makes it more difficult for you to obtain information than the prosecution. In general, you as a defender should ask for that information. You must ensure to request any oral or written statements that you may have submitted, your criminal record, any reports concerning yourself, the identity and contacts of expert witnesses, and you must request access to be able to examine any objects or documents held by the prosecution as evidence in this case.

However, because you are defending yourself, you may not be able to access all of the information. Prosecutors are required by law to protect the identities of witnesses during case preparation, for the safety of the witnesses. This is one reason you should really consider hiring a lawyer. If you are represented by an attorney, the claimant is required by law to provide information in its possession to your attorney, even though that information may not be available to you

Step 3. Investigate your case

After receiving all the documents you requested, you need to start the process of investigating the case. If you're not in prison, you can call, email, or talk to other people in person. So try to gather more and more information about your case. If you are being held in prison, you certainly need the help of others. You may still be able to write letters and make calls, but investigating a case while in prison is difficult.

As a defense attorney in a criminal case, you need to be careful not to appear intimidating or threatening to witnesses or victims. In fact, if you are trying to interview witnesses or victims, you should hire a professional to do this

Step 4. Research the laws and regulations relevant to your case

To be able to defend yourself in court, you must understand the lawsuits against you and prepare your legal defense. This means that you must research the laws and regulations relating to your case and develop the best strategy to defend yourself based on the lawsuits brought against you. You can find information about legal and statutory provisions from the sources below:

Public libraries in your location, especially those designated as law libraries. To find the location of your local public library, do some online research with the name of your city or county and the keywords “law library” and “open to the public”. Then, ask the librarian for help in identifying sources of legal information that suit your needs.
Online sources of information on laws and regulations in your location, for example https://jdihn.bphn.go.id/?page=peraturan&section=produk_ Hukum&act=jdih or
You can also use legal websites that are freely available to access to find legal information that can be useful to support your defense.
If you are currently being held in a prison, you can request permission to access the prison's law library, if one exists. If the prison does not have a library or law books, you may need to ask someone else for help who is not currently being held in prison.

Step 5. Make sure that you attend each preliminary hearing

In most cases of misdemeanors, these preliminary hearings are rare or even usually not held. Generally, the trial schedule is fixed and you will attend the hearing immediately, unless you apply for a settlement agreement. In more serious cases of lawlessness, you will attend at least one preliminary hearing before the actual trial. At the preliminary hearing, the judge will decide whether there is sufficient evidence to charge you and require you to appear in court. If the judge decides that there is not enough evidence. your case will fall and you will be acquitted. If the judge decides that the available evidence is sufficient to put you on trial, the charge will be read back and a trial schedule will be set.

Step 6. Submit an application to exclude certain evidence

Prior to the D-Day of the trial, you will have only a limited amount of time to examine any evidence the prosecution uses against you, as well as to file exceptions for any particular evidence obtained by unlawful means. To do this, you must write and apply to the congregation. The judge will read your application, and then decide whether to grant or deny it.

In general, evidence can be excluded if it is obtained in a way that violates your constitutional rights. For example, a murder weapon is illegal to use in a trial if it was obtained through an illegal search or seizure (for example, because the police officer in question does not have a search warrant). However, there are some exceptions to this rule as well, and if the prosecution can convince the judge that there are exceptions, the evidence may still be allowed to be used

Step 7. Negotiate a case settlement agreement

As a last resort to avoid trial, you may need to negotiate with the prosecution about a possible agreement. This agreement is reached if you and the claimant mutually agree on certain conditions that you will submit to the court. For example, you may be able to agree to plead “guilty” to one of the charges and in return the claimant will withdraw/cancel the other charges previously brought against you. Another example is that you agree to plead “guilty” to the lighter charge in order to avoid trial for the heavier charge.

By means of this agreement, you can avoid wasting time and money in filing a defense in court proceedings, minimizing the risk of an overly severe sentence, as well as the publicity that may arise as a result of the trial.
However, if you are completely innocent and you believe you can prove it, don't enter into this kind of deal.

Step 8. Attend the trial

The final stage in the criminal law case process is the trial itself. You will be presumed innocent until the trial process proves otherwise, and this is what the trial and prosecution will endeavor to do throughout the entire process. Similarly, during a trial, you have the right to remain silent and not testify against yourself. If you choose to remain silent, the prosecution will not be able to use your testimony against you. In the US, early in the process, you will be given the opportunity to ask the court to use the jury ruling system, or to waive that right and use the judge's ruling system. Once the trial begins, you must take care of yourself and do the same things as in a civil court trial. This means that you will need to present an opening statement, cross-examine witnesses, present a defense, raise objections if necessary, and provide a closing statement.

Tips

Be polite and available throughout the entire court process. Never lose control of your emotions towards the prosecution or witnesses, even if you feel very frustrated. Be professional every time you are not alone.
Do not discuss the details of your case with anyone.
Always stick to deadlines. Arrive earlier than the scheduled hearing and submit all requested documents on time.
If you have difficulty understanding complex legal language, you can hire a lawyer to consult and help you understand the situation of your case, even if the attorney is not the attorney you specifically hired to help process your case.

Warning

Representing yourself in court is a very risky decision and rarely works. Make sure that you understand the seriousness of the demands made against you before making a decision. If you have the potential for a severe sentence, it is recommended that you hire an attorney.
If the legal system tends to punish anyone who commits the same offense (for example, speeding), hiring a lawyer is a waste of money. However, if there are bigger things that could overwhelm your sentence, it is highly recommended to hire an attorney who can defend you well.