Criminal trials can be very emotional for defendants who have everything to gain or lose based on the verdict of the jury. This can be very stressful. Some people do not perform well under stress either because they become irritated, agitated or nervous.
Another factor is the demeanor of the witness. Some people come off as credible and likeable while others appear cold and evasive. These witnesses know what to expect. Certainly mock trials and detailed interviews with the attorney can help a defendant prepare to testify.
However, as the trial proceeds, a defense attorney may find that some of the topics the defendant wants to discuss are not as important as he once thought or that getting into those topics could do more harm than good. The greatest uncertainty of a defendant testifying is how he will withstand cross examination.
The prosecution has a right to cross-examine the defendant if the defendant exercises his or her right to testify. The defendant may be contradicted, impeached, discredited, or attacked by the prosecution.
However, the prosecution cannot ask highly prejudicial questions of the defendant if the questions are intended to inflame the minds of a jury. Whether a defendant will testify at his or her trial is normally the most important decision in the trial. Although a trial court will instruct a jury that they may not consider the defendant's failure to testify, most jurors want to hear the defendant's side of a case and often wonder why the defendant did not testify.
If the defendant chooses to testify, the jurors are given an opportunity to observe the defendant and to determine whether the defendant is sincere and credible as a witness. Because of the importance of the defendant's testimony, the defendant must be well prepared and must make a proper impression on the jury.
Recent Posts. Regardless of what the criminal defense lawyer advises their client to do, the defendant holds the absolute power to make the final decision about whether they want to testify at trial. The Fifth Amendment protects against forcing a defendant to testify at trial.
The judge will also instruct the jury that if the defendant chooses not to testify, then it shall not use that decision against the defendant. If the prosecution does not meet its burden and prove its case, then there is often no need for the defendant to testify.
Did the defendant already give a statement prior to trial? If the jury already watched the defendant give a statement in a video recording, then there may not be any need for the defendant to give another statement by testifying at trial, especially if you are satisfied with the original statement. All the testimony you desire, all the facts you were looking to have come out, may have already been put into evidence at the trial.
At that point, there may just not simply be a need for the defendant to testify. There are many other considerations why a defendant may not testify at trial, but a very simple one could be that the defendant simply does not want to.
As it is their choice on whether or not to testify, they may be against it. Preliminary Hearings are meant to be hearings for the judge to determine whether or not the prosecutors have met their burden at least prima facie in reference to each of the charges charged against a criminal defendant in Los Angeles.
What that means is, every single crime that anybody could be charged within Los Angeles has elements of the crime. Certain things have to be proved. Usually, the elements are broken down into two, three, four, five elements and at a preliminary hearing the prosecutors just have to put on evidence that if believed by a jury would meet each of the elements of the charges in the criminal case. Now, on the flip side, defense attorneys and me in particular, I think preliminary hearings are very important because you can lock witnesses in under penalty of perjury on statements.
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