Just lock the guy up now. Why even bother with a trial, courtroom observers said as Vincent Ferraiuofo went on trial last month for the murder of a West Haven motel owner.

The guy had the victim's blood all over his hands and he signed a confession. He was representing himself in court.

A guilty verdict was a lay-up.

But something unexpected happened. Eleven jurors voted guilty on murder, but one juror voted guilty on manslaughter and would not be swayed. A hung jury was declared and Ferraiuolo will get a new trial - an outcome many seasoned defense lawyers would be pleased with. Most legal experts said the outcome of the trial was the same as lightning striking the same spot twice. Going into a courtroom without a lawyer is courting disaster, they said. Yet some argue that representing yourself in court can have a positive result. Attorneys and legal experts throughout the area said they can't ever recall a time when a defendant acting as his or her own lawyer in a murder case got a mistrial.

Nonetheless, criminal defense lawyers said it's dangerous for people facing serious criminal charges to think they can walk into a courtroom without a lawyer and try their own case.

"Ordinarily, in a criminal case, it's not wise (to represent yourself) because there are a lot of rules that favor a criminal defendant in a trial that, plain and simple, require a certain degree of technical skill and training to exploit to the advantage of the defendant," said New Haven defense attorney Hugh F. Keefe. "It's a lot like a layman practicing any technical skill."

Ferraiuolo's decision to go "pro se" - a legal term reserved for people who represent themselves -- was widely viewed at the time as foolish, for what some observers say are good reasons. Even supporters of pro-se defendants acknowledge justice is rarely truly blind. Theresa Meehan Rudy, program director for Help Abolish Legal Tyranny, a non-profit organization dedicated to reform of the civil legal system, said the justice system in general is overly complicated with jargon and procedural requirements that place lawyers at a distinct advantage.

"It's their ballpark and you have to know what you're doing," Meehan Rudy said. "Some judges don't want anything to do with pro se litigants and will tell them to hire a lawyer. It can make it very difficult to present your case." For those preparing to mount a pro se defense, Meehan Rudy offered this advice: Do your homework.

The last pro se defendant to win a significant state case was Timothy Shashaty of Milford, who beat the odds in 1994 when he successfully represented himself against sexual assault charges. Shashaty's victory, however, was short lived. He was later arrested on drug possession charges and convicted at trial. Advocates of pro se litigants argue the legal system is biased against people who represent themselves, because of the threat they pose to the monopoly held by lawyers. Few lawyers, they say, are willing to come to terms with the fact that a significant portion of their livelihood is based squarely on barriers to self-representation that the courts erect and enforce.

Ferraiuolo, 39, went before a Superior Court judge in Milford and asked that he be allowed to represent himself, choosing to place his destiny in his own hands rather than rely on a public defender. The move signaled a peculiar development in a case that seemed a slam-dunk for prosecutors, primarily because DNA evidence linked Ferraiuolo to the scene at the West Haven Hotel where Josephine Lee, 39, was clubbed to death last year. Police said Lee and Ferraiuolo were arguing over money prior to the killing. Some defense lawyers, like Keefe, said the mistrial is a victory for Ferraiuolo because a second trial works to his advantage. "He (Ferraiuolo) knows what they're going to say and the witnesses will be confronted with any inconsistencies in their testimony," Keefe said.

Attorney Paul Bergman, an author of self-help law manuals and a professor of law at the University of California at Los Angeles, said it's "probably likely" that some people are better off self-represented, because of "current pressures" facing the criminal justice system. Public defenders in courthouses everywhere are overburdened and can't spend substantial time working with individual clients on their cases, he said.

"Government defense lawyers are under funded," Bergman said. "Very few politicians win votes by saying they want to supply more legal help for criminals. Everyone wants to be tough on crime."

Traditionally, judges discourage pro se defendants because their lack of knowledge can interfere with the orderly flow of the courtroom and give rise to issues on the appellate level, Bergman said. When people are permitted to proceed pro se, he said, judges typically must treat them "paternalistically" so that skilled lawyers do not take them advantage of them. As to the outcome of Ferraiuolo's trial, Bergman said it underscores the unpredictability of the jury system, where one holdout is enough to cause a mistrial.

Milford lawyer Peter Stark, who advised Ferraiuolo on rules of evidence and procedure during the trial, said Ferraiuolo did an adequate job for a non-lawyer, bringing out "inconsistencies" in the police investigation that weakened the state's case. He said the biggest weakness of the state's case was not coming up with enough evidence to prove Ferraiuolo's alleged intent or motive for the murder. One juror interviewed after Ferraiuolo's first trial said Ferraiuolo did a fairly good job but predicted that the next jury would convict him.

"The next jury is going to do it," said juror Richard Olson of Shelton. "Everything is out now, all the tricks he pulled. I thought it was clever." Other legal scholars, like Bergman, say people represented by lawyer who take an active role in their cases and learn about the law get the best legal representation. While pro se defendants are discouraged in criminal courts, experts say a growing number of people are representing themselves in other arenas - especially divorce court. Lawyers such as Keefe have even recommended that clients with few marital assets handle their own cases without a lawyer. "The reason for that," he said, "is because lawyers' divorce fees have become ridiculous."