Hello Everyone,
I’m sure there have been countless people who have represented themselves in small claims court and traffic court that haven’t been victorious. But what about a major crime case like murder, rape, etc… Has anyone ever been successful defending themselves against these types of charges?
Well, Charles Manson did… but he lost. I’m still looking.
Vin Diesel starred in the movie Find Me Guilty covering the RICO trial of Jackie DiNorscio.
The low level gangster was a defendant during the longest federal trial in history.
During the trial, DiNorscio went on to fire his lawyer and represent himself during the entire trial. Although not popular with Accetturo and Taccetta, DiNorscio is reported to have charmed the jury; as the trial ended in 1988, all twenty defendants were acquitted, with a great deal of “pull” attributed to the congenial personality demonstrated by DiNorscio while he represented himself against the charges. The prosecutors were stunned and it is claimed that the Jersey Crew went right back where they left off in their criminal enterprises before the RICO trial.[1]
If the Google-fu is still working …
Not guilty: Syracuse man acting as own lawyer successfully defends himself at murder trial
Murder Defendant Found Man to Win Case: Himself
Jury Acquits N.J. Man Who Defended Himself in Multiple Homicide Trial | TIME.com
I haven’t read the urls and some look to be behind paywalls.
My understanding is that most of the (rare) successful instances of self-representation are cases where the facts are overwhelmingly in the defendants favour to the extent of an injustice that the case was pursued so as far as a trial.
Clarence Darrow did:
Halfway through trial, booze effectively put Rogers out of action, forcing Darrow to take over his own defense. That probably saved Darrow, who got to deliver one of his famed heart-rending perorations, this time on his own behalf.
“If in your judgment,” he told the jury, “and your wisdom and your humanity, you believe me innocent and return a verdict of not guilty in this case, I know that from thousands and tens of thousands and yea, perhaps millions of the weak and the poor and the helpless throughout the world, will come thanks to this jury for saving my liberty and my name.”
When Darrow finished, even the court stenographer was in tears. It took the jury less than 40 minutes to return a verdict of not guilty.