What is the effect of having to present a defence in a criminal case before a judge who is not a lawyer?
The following excerpt is from Legal Aid Soc. of Sullivan County, Inc. v. Scheinman, 422 N.E.2d 542, 439 N.Y.S.2d 882, 53 N.Y.2d 12 (N.Y. 1981):
And, overall, without exhausting our toll of deleterious fair trial consequences at this point, aside from prejudice in fact, one cannot avoid consciousness of the appearance of unfairness that is almost sure to be sensed by a defendant who is jailed after being forced to trial before a Judge who is not a lawyer. For it "is of fundamental importance that justice should not only be done, but should manifestly and undoubtedly be seen to be done" (Lord Hewart in Rex v. Sussex Justices 1 KB 256, 259).
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