orangesandapples
IL Paralegal
- Joined
- Dec 22, 2012
- Messages
- 157
- Reaction score
- 223
It's always a bad idea for a defendant to represent themselves, and IMO it's almost always a decision made by an unstable, incompetent, or (in this case) narcissistic mind. Anyone who believes that they are more qualified to represent themselves than a trained attorney thinks that if only they can get up there and say their piece everyone will finally get it and they will be vindicated. There was no way his lawyers were going to allow him to testify in his own defense if they could prevent it, but it looks like they succeeded in convincing him to shut up only by the skin of their teeth. He wants to ~tell his story~ because he thinks it will help him, but I have my doubts.
This is tricky- it's unlikely that he will face a harsher sentence but not impossible is the easiest way to answer the question. A federal appellate judge cannot increase a defendant's sentence, but a federal court theoretically can. Since he is appealing a state ruling this does not apply, and since he did not receive the maximum allowable sentence it's possible but very unlikely that he could receive a harsher sentence. Of course, he could appeal that since this is far from his last available avenue.
And deffo wanna know if in either the US or on a state by state basis, the appellate process can increase the sentence or not??
This is tricky- it's unlikely that he will face a harsher sentence but not impossible is the easiest way to answer the question. A federal appellate judge cannot increase a defendant's sentence, but a federal court theoretically can. Since he is appealing a state ruling this does not apply, and since he did not receive the maximum allowable sentence it's possible but very unlikely that he could receive a harsher sentence. Of course, he could appeal that since this is far from his last available avenue.