Pro se - sustany/dvg GitHub Wiki

Latin for "for oneself, on one's own behalf." When a litigant proceeds without legal counsel, they are said to be proceeding "pro se."� See, e.g. Rivera v. Florida Department of Corrections, 526 U.S. 135 (1999).

The Sixth Amendment guarantees criminal defendants the right to representation by counsel.� In 1975, the Supreme Court held that the structure of the Sixth Amendment necessarily implies that a defendant in a state criminal trial has a constitutional right to proceed without counsel when he voluntarily and intelligently elects to do so. See Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806 (1975).� Thus, an unwilling defendant may not be compelled by the State to accept the assistance of a lawyer.� A defendant's right to self-represenatation in federal criminal proceedings is codified in 28 U.S.C. � 1654.�

Any waiver of the right to counsel must be knowing, voluntary, and intelligent.� The Faretta court stated that "a defendant need not have the skill and experience of a lawyer, but should be made aware of the dangers and disadvantages of self-representation, so that the record will establish that he knows what he is doing and "the choice is made with eyes open."� See Faretta.� In 2004, the Court acknowledged that it has not prescribed any formula regarding the information a defendant must possess in order to make an intelligent choice.� See Iowa v. Tovar, 541 U.S. 77 (2004).� According to the Court, determining whether a waiver of counsel is intelligent depends on "a range of case-specific factors, including the defendant's education or sophistication, the complex or easily grasped nature of the charge, and the stage of the proceeding."� See Tovar.