Charles Denton and Charles Weisselberg quoted by The Daily Californian, Oct. 22, 2017
Although defendants representing themselves do not belong to the law profession, they are held to the same courtroom standards, Denton said. He added that, while the process is traumatic for the victim, the defense is less effective compared to attorney representation.
Charles Weisselberg … said that with self-representing defendants, cross-examination objectives remain the same with or without a representative lawyer — to “undermine the credibility of the witness or draw out points that would support the defense.”