General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsYall legal eagles, explain like I'm 5 or 10. How come most of the time
the defense attorney(s) don't want the accused to take the stand?
exboyfil
(17,865 posts)Jenoch
(7,720 posts)LuvNewcastle
(16,862 posts)Maybe the defendant is an asshole and the attorney knows the jury won't like him. Maybe the defendant doesn't display the proper emotions about the case. I'd say it's usually a case of one or more of those things along with the fact that the defendant knows more about the crime than he wants the jury to hear, and he's afraid that in a good cross-examination, that information will come out.
TexasProgresive
(12,161 posts)Now matter how well you prepare the client there is now predicting how he/she will stand up to aggressive cross-examination by the prosecution. This has nothing to do with the defendant's innocence or guilt but how the jury perceives it.
I am not a lawyer but this is what I've heard.
WinkyDink
(51,311 posts)the accused's burden to prove anything; it's the prosecution's.
dsc
(52,172 posts)is that many things that normally can't be entered into evidence (previous convictions, dishonesty in personal dealings etc) can be entered in to evidence to impeach your testimony.
DefenseLawyer
(11,101 posts)Evidence of the priors would in many cases become admissible if the Defendant takes the stand as a witness. Another reason has to do with your theory of the case. Because the state has the burden of proof, in many cases the defense is not "here's what really happened"; rather it is only that the state can't prove that the crime occurred as alleged, beyond a reasonable doubt. In such cases, you may not want the defendant to take the stand because it can take the focus away from your theme. Sometimes he or she is just a bad witness (nervous, rambling, unlikeable, etc.). In those situations, if there isn't a fact that you absolutely need from the Defendant, you might choose not to put him on.
Laelth
(32,017 posts)-Laelth