Can a defendant refuse to testify in a criminal case?

so."].) Even if a defendant's insistence upon testifying may be harmful to his case, "the right is of such importance that every defendant should have it in a criminal case." (People v. Robles, supra, at p. 215.) Although normally the decision whether a defendant should testify is within the competence of the trial attorney, when a defendant insists that he wants to testify, he cannot be deprived of that opportunity. (Ibid.; see also People v. Carter (2005) 36 Cal.4th 1114, 1198.)