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Fools Rush In.
It's been said many times that a man who is his own
lawyer has a fool for a client. A Canadian man learned that the hard way
recently while trying to get out of drug convictions imposed after a trial
two years ago in which he represented himself.
Clayton Gordon took his case to Ontario's Court of
Appeal, claiming he had bad counsel and that the convictions for selling
cocaine should be overturned.
The Appeal Court's three judges unanimously denied the appeal in a short
written decision, saying Gordon couldn't be a victim of bad lawyering
since he chose to be his own lawyer.
"Since the appellant chose to represent himself at trial, there is no
merit to the argument that he was deprived of the effective assistance of
counsel," stated the one-page ruling.
"The ineffective assistance cases have no application to a situation where
an accused chooses to represent himself."
Gordon's sentence of seven months in jail stands.
Source: CNEWS, "Man who defended self in court loses appeal on basis he
had bad lawyer," June 3, 2003.
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