The Biggest Mistake People Make in Court
The biggest mistake people make in court is not defending themselves. Period. I know because I’ve been helping people just like you in court for more than 30 years.
Our criminal justice system is adversarial. That means the prosecutor is suppose to offer evidence against you; you’re suppose to defend yourself; and the judge is suppose to decide your case based on the evidence actually presented in court. If you don’t defend yourself, you’re just asking for trouble and you may actually be making things worse.
When a process is adversarial you can’t just sit back and hope for the best. You need to actively participate in the process and you need to protect yourself. You could be innocent, the prosecutor could overcharge you, or the police could violate your rights but it really wouldn’t matter unless you pointed these things out to the court.
Put another way, do you really think you’ll get a good result if the only evidence the judge hears is presented by the prosecutor and makes you look guilty? Why? The prosecutor is not in court to help you; the prosecutor is in court to convict you.
At the very least, you need to oppose the introduction of evidence that is exaggerated, fabricated, or legally inadmissible because if you don’t, who will?