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.
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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.
