Representing Yourself in Court 101 - Walk Away If You Can

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Published 2016-11-27

Thinking of representing yourself in court? Donald Best shares hard truths about how the justice system is rigged with systemic barriers to foil self-represented litigants.

This is a must-see for anyone contemplating acting as their own lawyer in a civil or criminal proceeding.

donaldbest.ca/

About Donald Best

Donald Best is an Access to Justice and Anti-corruption advocate. A former Toronto Police Sergeant (Detective), he spent years in deep-cover investigations against organized crime, corrupt police and public officials.

In 2010 while traveling abroad from Canada, he was convicted of Civil Contempt of Court in a civil case costs hearing he did not know was taking place. He was convicted in his absence on the provably false testimony of several senior lawyers and spent 63 days in prison - all in solitary confinement.

Mr. Best was forced to represent himself in court. The courts refused to listen to Mr. Best's voice recordings that prove his innocence and the lawyers' perjury. The courts refused to allow Mr. Best to cross-examine the lawyers who provided the false testimony used to convict him.

The courts did not allow Mr. Best to appeal his conviction unless he first paid almost a third of a million dollars in costs that were previously awarded to the lawyers on the foundation of their false testimony. Due to that financial barrier to justice, Mr. Best was unable to appeal.

His conviction and prison time stand as a warning to all Canadians of how a corrupt cabal has undermined both the legal profession and the justice system.

All Comments (21)

@tonybochene8593 4 years ago

I've represented myself in court in 15 different actions, and I won 12 of them! It cost me next to nothing and cost the other guy enough to buy a house. I love it! Attorneys want you to believe you can't, or shouldn't, represent yourself in court. One reason they do this is obvious, they don't want the competition and loss of income. The other reason is they want you to believe civil court is some king of mystical palace where the average person will get lost.
@xrpmaxi8839 2 years ago

I can say that I represented myself and I did get abused for not knowing the procedure, but what they didn't expect was my persistence. I lost at trial but on appeal, I convinced the judge to remand the case back to the lower court, where I then won. Defending yourself is absolutely a daunting task, but if you know you are right and you have the fortitude to represent yourself you can absolutely win.
@ckygogo 6 years ago

No system can STOP The ALMIGHTY'S HAND! Stand for something or fall for anything!
@tedhibbard6320 4 years ago

My family ripped me off for over 100 grand when my mom died.Well i have been fighting in court and only have 900 dollars into this fight paying for lawyers.They have 26 000 grand into this fight for lawyers.We going to the jury now and i will be repensenting myself all the way.If i loose in court, they get nothing becuase im judgement free.I own nothing no house.If i win they pay me the 100 grand plus the 60 grand fight me.I will not surrender.Wish me luck im going for it.
@lisettek8272 4 years ago

I have a high pain tolerance so honestly I love that you say I can’t win
@mikecamacho1934 2 years ago

I represented myself and won. Proved the cop lied on his report. It's all about the evidence and the facts.
@TheGolfster3 3 years ago

'Walk away" or pay an attorney, once he drains you financially, to walk away. Honestly, with what attorneys charge hourly, you could pay to put yourself through law school two, if not 3 times over.
@Jesusisatthedoor 4 years ago

Philippians 4:13 I can do all this through Christ, who gives me strength.
@MikeBrownRehobothBeach 6 years ago

I did much better representing myself in family "court" than I did with an overpriced attorney. How can they call it a court when Child Support falls under the Executive Branch while courts are supposed to fall under the Judicial Branch? In "Family Court" you are also stripped of your constitutional right to Due Process. Family Court is a Kangaroo Court where nothing is done in the best interest of the child, it's all about the money as the child support agency is a cooperation, not a government agency and its sole purpose is to make money to keep all the family court employees employed and keep their corrupt agency funded. Have you ever noticed that in family "Court" most cases are heard by "Commissioners" rather than Judges??? It's all very corrupt. Unfortunately the USA is not the home of the Free that they taught us about in grade school. Your "Rights" are worth the paper they are written on and can be thrown away any time the "courts" wish.
@iiGODLYWARRIOR 4 years ago

I was falsely accused of a felony and I lost my career as a security officer. No lawyer will take on my lawsuit against my accuser. I guess I have no choice but to represent myself.
@lauranelida5230 6 years ago

Ever since I saw the documentary "Divorce Corp" I will say🤝 I won my case representing myself and I am now studying to become a paralegal 🤗
@robertadafallon660 5 years ago

Not taking your advice! This video was a waste of your time. I can do anything I want. With God all things are possible. In God we trust!
@808estate2 4 years ago

Thank you sooo much for this! I wasn't going to go up against the Law Firms for my rights! Now I KNOW I'm doing something right! I'm going to do as much as I can to win and more importantly learn! Lawyers WATCH OUT!!! I'm coming for my Freedom!
@richardgabriel8783 3 years ago

Holy shit did he just say that" whether you have a lawyer or not" I'm a construction worker who took some time off thanks to Covid-19. My time was spent learning and education my as well as putting together a good strong case in a binder! I preserved all my evidence!! I matched up the many Violation's to its Codes (Civil & Evid) I was doing research like Erin Brockovich I kid you not! What was a big help for me was Casetext & Westlaw! I was able to research other cases ,learn the language, The many Rules & Statues for the state of California. Every ESI was in there in that binder, anyway I told the Attorney (I got shot down by two over the phone) the 3rd was a charm! We talked for 45min my last words were " I'm handing you a case on a silver platter) 2 weeks later a letter went out (Informal Discovery) and the rest is history! What are the 4 elements to trigger the doctrine of "Negligence Per Se"? I'm being very honest, God Honest, I stopped this video 30 seconds in to write this. I'm not even going to finish it! People if you want to see an amazing inspirational video when comes to representing yourself you gotta see NO you must see " I arrested the district attorney " Knowledge is power and nobody can take that away from you!! As for the guy who made this video, I only lasted 30sec , it wasn't for me! Nothing Personal..
@jedizelfknight 2 years ago

Gonna be representing myself at court in two days because I'm going through a divorce. I don't have money for a lawyer because I spent most of my money on my previous lawyer. I already know that I'm going to lose, I'm not there to win or gain my wife back even though she has an army with her. All I want is to end this divorce as soon as possible and peacefully. I'm not there to bully or intimidate anyone.
@RA-iy9hb 5 years ago

I am a lawyer from Middle East . I have a custody battle in Illinois and I had so far four lawyers draining me in the court more than $300,000 and they lied on me and I gave them too much evidence but they didn’t use it and most of them they did stipulation without my permission. Lawyers these days are lairs just money language. No morals . And I still believe that still there few lawyers honest . But thank you so much for this video . Now I either represent my self or look for honest lawyer which is quite difficult
@jimsocks6922 7 years ago

This guys definitely one of them. Clearly trying to use a scare tactic
@Waktrax2 3 years ago

I beat a speeding ticket, and turned a collection suit into a counter claim. It took a lot of time, and wasn’t easy. But after hearing the cop tell me he never lost a case, ever, and hearing the debt collector moan as I demanded the money I sure would try again!
@Dan-is2je 6 years ago

In family court I have observed corrupt judges doing favor after favor for their lawyer colleagues while ignoring the law...
@frankwoz6945 4 years ago

I'm in California going thru a divorce. This man has said everything that has happened to me. I originally had a Lawer, charged me $4000. This guy was bad, very poor representation. Heck , I talked more in court more than he did. He left the case while it was still on going. I now represent myself, I also filed a complaint with the state bar against him and opposing counsel. It is a club, the Judge cant stand me, he hates the fact I'm representing myself. He wont allow me to talk in court. Has shut me down dozens of times (will file a complaint against him also) this case has lasted almost 3 years. The Judge even stated "Well, at least your saving money on Attorney fees". The complaints against the Lawyers was denied. I'm going back to court soon, and going to ride it out. I wouldn't advise what I'm doing to anyone else. But am saving money like the Judge said.