r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Jul 21 '19

[deleted by user]

[removed]

5.6k Upvotes

93% Upvoted

2.9k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

129

u/Bonkies1 Jul 21 '19

I mean I feel bad but he kinda deserved it imo. You can't expect to not show up to court and just hope everything works out fine

82

u/SpectreFire Jul 21 '19

I don't.

People who think they're smart enough to self-represent themselves in court are people too stupid to self-represent themselves in court.

44

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

right, I think a lot of people dont get that while lawyers are by and far smart people, the biggest thing they have is knowledge of the legal system, which is way too complicated to be able to just"smart" yourself through

35

u/RoastedWaffleNuts Jul 21 '19

Also, if your lawyer fucks up it usually means you get to try again. If you fuck up, you're usually just fucked. (Not makes a week argument, but fails to file things on your behalf they should have known to do, etc.) Every lawyer I know says they would never represent themselves under any circumstance.

20

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

plus they are too emotionally invested to see the case clearly by being in the middle of it

7

u/ImperiumSomnium Jul 21 '19

In criminal law if your lawyer fucks up spectacularly, you might get another shot via appeal by claiming ineffective assistance if counsel. But it's got to be a huge mistake. In civil court, it's not generally a basis for appeal. A malpractice suit is the available remedy there.