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A Judicial David Versus Goliath: Prohibiting Capital Defendants From Proceeding Pro Se, Jonathan Z. Desantis

Jonathan Z DeSantis

This Article contends that capital defendants should be prohibited from proceeding pro se. The Article addresses the innate difficulties a self-represented capital defendant will experience while preparing for his or her trial, particularly if he or she is incarcerated. The paper then explores the troubling relationship between self-representation and capital punishment and opines that a capital trial with a pro se defendant cannot satisfy the "heightened reliability" the United States Supreme Court demands for capital proceedings. The Article states that existing case law allows a per se limitation of the constitutional right to self-representation barring capital defendants from proceeding pro …