Would you be your own lawyer?

A man who represents himself represents a fool.

I don't really know the system well enough- I'd rather not take any chances.

Let's be honest here; even if you "have everything you need", this is still a HORRIBLE idea. This and the following, of course, comes with the exception "unless you have passed the BAR and are certified and licensed to practice law in the state in question and within the type of law in question" (Types of Law Include but are not limited to: civil, criminal, worker's comp, collision, personal injury, class action, negligence, and liens). || Let me give you a bit of personal experience here: In my 12 years of licensed, legal driving experience, I have never been involved in an accident (outside of my vehicle being hit on two separate occasions while legally parked and myself not in the vehicle) and have NEVER even been pulled over for a traffic violation. I lie, I was actually pulled over one time by an officer that ran a speed trap every day on the freeway in the morning; but he pulled me over, NOT for a violation, but instead to thank me for driving so safely every day and even following laws that only a handful of drivers even realize ARE laws. But 1 single time, I was driving through a school zone, the date was July 22nd, school was out for the summer, the speed limit was 45 MPH, the speeding cameras went off and hit me for speeding in a school zone (35 MPH zone). I immediately went back through and took video, showing that the school zone sign and lights at the start of the school zone were NOT on or flashing. A couple months later, I got the ticket in the mail for doing 46 MPH (keep in mind, it was a 45 MPH zone). I went to court without a lawyer and the judge immediately expected me to plead guilty so as soon as he called me up he said "Since this is your first offense, I will give you the choice between the $180 fine or driving school which costs $175 and will take 25 hours to complete". I told the judge I have a video showing the school zone sign at the start of the school zone was not on, taken 2 minutes after I was hit by the camera; the judge pulled up the "official" city video which showed the sign WAS on...but it was the school zone sign AFTER the camera and speed trap zone and was a sign 25 feet before the end of the zone. I argued that my responsibility was the sign at the START of the zone as after that, my focus my be back on the road, the 6 lanes of traffic around me, and the 18 wheel big rig flying down the road toward me in the opposite direction as there was no median there and instead was only a double yellow line and 3 feet between our two vehicles. The judge turned the TV to me and responded "See this sign here? That means you are also in a construction zone which is a 35 MPH zone. So, either way you want this to go, it was still speeding." I looked at the sign and quickly responded "With all due respect sir....I mean your honor...my apologies...but can you please inform the myself and the court of what that sign says? I mean, again, with all due respect, that sign is backwards, pointing the other direction, for the traffic flowing the opposite way. In fact, I live a mile down the road, at (insert intersection here) right where the construction is taking place; I know exactly what that sign says; it says "construction zone 1 mile ahead". The speed reduction sign is about a half mile down the road." As the judge stared me down, I then stated "As the defendant, it is my responsibility to defend myself; as the acting prosecution, the court has the full burden of proof here, and without the ability to prove exactly what that sign says in addition to the burden of proof showing that I was clearly notified before hand that your assumption of that exact area being a construction was true, your assumption can not be legally held against me here." The just became visibly irritated that I knew what I was talking about, stopped the stenographer from typing, turned to me with the most red face I have ever seen and asked me "Young man, you have no lawyer with you here today; are you sure you want to go ahead with that argument?" I quickly responded "Your honor, I have the up most respect for you, your position, the courts, and the rule of law; additionally, as you can see, my driving record is pristine including not a single violation or even a warning. Furthermore, from the information and data that has been provided to me by the prosecution and the courts, I do not see any evidence proving or even hinting that I have violated any laws. In fact, the evidence being presented against myself clearly shows that IF any laws were violated, responsibility for the violation falls on the responsible jurisdiction for the non-functioning traffic regulatory systems that are clearly shown on the prosecution's own video." The judge got even more red and responded "Young man, I see that you are intelligent and well prepared for your defense; for this reason, I will give you one -- last -- chance. Here is your choice; I suggest you take driving school for $175. If you do NOT take driving school, I will resume the proceedings and I WILL find you guilty, and I WILL hit you to the full extent of the law for BOTH the school zone AND the construction zone speeding violation and you WILL walk out of here with over $500 in fines. Before you respond, I want you to understand, I do NOT care what evidence you present or what arguments you make to me, I WILL drop the hammer on you, so take the driving school and get on with your day." || So, even though I was in the right and the courts were in the wrong, because I did NOT have a lawyer, I got completely shafted.

But yeah, you could apply for legal aid.