I blogged on the progress, and eventual signing of HB 1178.
This bill prevents prosecutors from speaking with pro se defendants until those defendants have signed an attorney waiver.
Here is a Kaufman District Court waiver. Would you sign this?
I had experience with a similar (and much shorter) waiver in East Texas as a prosecutor. Defendants would sign these almost 90% of the time so they could “talk with the DA.”
While 1178 will not be a panacea for our criminal justice system, it at least puts defendants on notice that pro se representation is an awful idea
Now for a fun exercise. Here is the attorney waiver in Haiku form
We know you’re guilty
Sign this waiver Defendant
Probation Awaits