Lawyers are unnecessary

https://www.buzzfeed.com/emilydugan/...lawyer-because

This is all so unnecessary. Why not just throw them into a pond and see if they float?

Quote:

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BuzzFeed News can reveal:

Magistrates report that the number of people appearing in court without a lawyer has risen by a quarter in three years. The survey found that 30% of all criminal defendants they saw at their last session had no lawyer, up from 24% in 2014.
The problem even extends to crown courts, where the most serious cases are heard. More than 6,000 people appeared in crown court without a lawyer or had unknown representation at their first hearing last year – that’s 7% of all defendants. In 2013 this proportion was 5%.
94% of magistrates believe that having people in court without lawyers can have a negative impact on the effectiveness of the court process. This figure has stayed the same since a survey in 2014, suggesting little has improved in the experience of defendants without lawyers while their numbers have risen.
Of the 370 magistrates surveyed, 40% said having no lawyer had a bad impact on effectiveness in most or all cases. A further 53% said it did so occasionally.
In more than 160 anonymous written submissions, magistrates’ concerns include that defendants without lawyers are being found guilty of crimes they did not commit and being sentenced too harshly.
Cases witnessed and interviews gathered by BuzzFeed News over several days in Sheffield magistrates’ court reveal that many of those facing criminal charges alone have serious mental health problems and could never afford a lawyer.
Experts say the situation makes a mockery of Britain’s proud justice system. In the US, for example, the right to a defence lawyer in criminal cases is the sixth amendment to the constitution.

In his first interview since being voted in last month, the chairman of the Magistrates Association, John Bache, told BuzzFeed News there was “a real anger” among magistrates about the rise in people being unrepresented in criminal cases as a result of legal aid cuts.

Bache said he was “hugely” worried that defendants were not getting a fair trial.

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