2.3: How do I "represent myself"?
Description
This article is from the Lawful Arrest/Search/Seizure FAQ, by Ahimsa Dhamapada ahimsa@mu.clarityconnect.net with numerous contributions by others.
2.3: How do I "represent myself"?
You should never say that you "represent yourself" ("Pro Se")!
This is a trick to get you to think you have given up your
rights. If you do not have a lawyer, you are "appearing
before the court as your own proper person". ("Pro Per",
or "In Propria Persona").
Here is the trick:
The 6th Amendment asserts the right to "the assistance of
Counsel", which the lawyers say means that you have the
right to be "represented by attorney". In reality, *anyone*
can be your counsel: your wife, your landlord, your boss,
your friend, or just some libertarian fellow who has studied
the Constitution. Your Counsel (someone who gives you advice)
does NOT need to be your representative (someone who speaks and
acts for you).
This is an important distinction. You can appear before the court
as your own person, without an agent/representative and STILL
have someone who gives you advice!
What is the basis for the State-sanctioned monopoly of the
Bar Association, especially when you grievance may be with
the State? Let's open up the practice of law to good old
fashioned American Competition!
So, if you say "I Represent myself", then the judge will usually
say, "Then, you waive your 6th Amendment right to Counsel?"
To which you calmly reply: "I assert all of my rights and
waive none of them. I respectfully demand that this court
recognize all of my rights under the Constitution. I appear
without representative, but I still assert my right to the
Counsel of my choosing. My Counsel will advise me, but will
not represent me."
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