Can a defendant testify in his own defense at trial?

(3) Undue emphasis: In People v. Funes, supra, 23 Cal.App.4th at p. 1521, the court concluded a jury would likely have accorded undue weight to new evidence defendant sought to introduce "after the jury had begun deliberations and in direct response to their request." Under these circumstances, the court opined the jury "may have given the evidence more weight than it deserved, and put the prosecution at an unfair disadvantage." (Ibid.) In the present case, in contrast, had defendant been permitted to testify, his testimony would have immediately followed the testimony of the other defense witnesses. Accordingly, there is no reason to believe the jury would have accorded defendant's testimony undue emphasis.

(4) Significance of the evidence: A defendant's testimony in his own defense at a criminal trial "is unique and inherently significant. 'The most persuasive counsel may not be able to speak for a defendant as the defendant might, with halting eloquence, speak for himself.' Green v. United States, 365 U.S. 301, 304 (1961). When the defendant testifies, the jury is given an opportunity to observe his demeanor and to judge his credibility firsthand. As the United States Supreme Court noted in Rock v. Arkansas, 483 U.S. 44, 52 (1987), 'the most important witness for the defense in many criminal cases is the defendant himself.' Further, in a case such as this where the question was not whether a crime was committed, but whether the defendant was the person who committed the crime, his testimony takes on even greater importance. Indeed, '[w]here the very point of a trial is to determine whether an individual was involved in criminal activity, the testimony of the individual himself must be considered of prime importance.' [Citation.]" (Nichols v. Butler (11th Cir. 1992) 953 F.2d 1550, 1553.)