Denver criminal defense lawyer / lawyering your own case

Of course it is going to seem self-serving for a Denver criminal defense lawyer to say this, but I sincerely believe it from the bottom of my heart. Don't lawyer your own case. In some cases, a lawyer won't help you all that much. But if you are looking at anything with jail time or a permanent record, you'll want a lawyer. Are there situations where a layperson could handle everything from start to finish? Sure. how on earth are you going to know whether or not your case is one of those? The only way to know the case is a "simple" one (and I'd dispute there's ever such a thing with so much at stake in terms of punishment, criminal record, expense, and reputation), is to treat it like it will be complicated all the way through, then eliminate the complexities that go into it.

If you attempt to try your own case, chances are you are mostly wasting your time. The law on the elements of the crimes themselves is complex enough. However, that information can basically be gleaned from the statute books. You'll have a hard time interpreting it though. Especially since the statutes are packed full of legal terms of art. These bear a passing resemblance to English but aren't the same at all.

Of course what will really be confusing are the rules of evidence. There are complicated rules that dictate how a defense lawyer or pro se client can try a case. You need to follow specific rules to introduce items into evidence. There are specific mistakes prosecutors make that makes their evidence inadmissible. If you don't object to these mistakes, there is no recourse. It's possible that the judge or prosecutor will take it easy on you and not try to sneak anything by. But is the charity of the opposing party really what you want to rely on? Additionally, even if there's nothing underhanded about it, people make mistakes. Even lawyers and judges miss things about the rules of evidence. That's why it's key to have a criminal defense lawyer in your corner. If the charges are serious, it's worth every penny.