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A Court Hearing And Expectation Of Judgment Essay

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Any case that proceeds to a court hearing and expectation of judgement becomes the fight for justice which becomes a very critical entity. While it may seem easier with more online resources to get legal information, and it may save the defendant some money, self-litigating one’s own case in criminal court may cause damage and be a burden to the bench, the court, the justice system and even the defendant. At the end of a court hearing, it is the preceding judge or a jury that must make a conclusion which affects one side of the conflicting parties. Our justice system recognizes lawyers as the best people to represent a defendant in court. In recent years, self-representation in the court system has drastically increased. This move might be too risky for most defendants.
It is important to understand the driving forces behind self-litigating in a court of law. Socio-economic issues are the main reason for self-representation. The cost and the retainer fees for a lawyer to represent a client can be financial astronomical. For some, it may even be impossible. “Many SRL’s (Self-Represented Litigants) find that the legal services that they can realistically afford to pay for, and / or prioritize as an area in which they want assistance, are simply not available to them other than in a traditional legal services model. Financial retainers and services billed at a rate of $350 - $400 an hour are beyond the means of many Canadians.” (Macfarlane 2013). Many times, lawyers will

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