After being charged with a criminal offense, many accused individuals are eager to get before a jury to tell their side of the story. While you’ll certainly have your opportunity to do that through the presentation of evidence, you should think twice before deciding to take the stand at your criminal trial. Although testifying in your own defense allows you to present your side of events in your own words, it can be catastrophically risky.
The dangers of testifying in your own defense
There’s a lot of risk when it comes to testifying in your own defense. This includes each of the following potential issues, any one of which could be devastating to your case:
- You’ll be subjected to aggressive cross-examination, the answers to which you may struggle to articulate.
- You might present in an unintended way that leaves the jury with a bad impression of you and your testimony.
- The prosecution will highlight any relevant history to make you look bad.
- Prior inconsistent statements will be used to attack your credibility.
- You’ll be forced to stick to the facts and testify truthfully, which may not be in your best interests.
As you can see, there are a lot of areas for the prosecution to attack you when you decide to testify in your own defense, which is why it’s often best to tell your story through other witness testimony and physical evidence.
Don’t make costly mistakes in your criminal defense
There are a lot of issues to address as you build your criminal defense. You have to pay each one of them the attention they deserve, otherwise you could face unwanted consequences. So, if you’re ready to build an effective criminal defense that protects your interests as fully as possible, then now is the time to get to work laying the foundation of your legal strategy.