Articles Tagged with self-represented litigants

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“Too many shut out of justice, ABA president says:

Wlliam C. Hubbard, president of the American Bar Association, calls it “the justice gap.”

Deep down, all Americans believe they have a right to their day in court. They probably don’t envision that might mean a day in court with no lawyer on hand to guide them through it. But that’s the reality for an increasing number of people, perhaps one reason the World Justice Project’s Rule of Law Index ranks the United States only 19th out of 99 countries on access to justice ….” [Link to full article.]

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Legal Research is Easy is still one of my favorite blogs. (And I can only dream about working as a law librarian in a state with so many official court forms, practice materials, and self-help resources. Sigh.)

The blog author has fun writing the blog, is smart, funny, profane and profound, doesn’t sweat the small stuff, and is brutally honest about what self-representation is all about and what public law librarians can do – and can’t do. And he cares. When a big heart meets a tough cookie, good things can happen. (And he doesn’t even hint at the amount of dedication and work (and money management) that is required to keep his legal research skills fresh or to create and maintain a law library with the breadth and quality of legal research materials needed to provide this level of service. Easy indeed! Not!)

Try it out: Legal Research is Easy.  You will learn from it, whether you’re a librarian or a self-represented litigant – or if you think you know what public law librarians and public law libraries do, but in fact have barely a clue.

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Our favorite and first-stop legal self-help website is Oregon Law Help.

If you need legal information and referrals on domestic violence, custody, child support, landlord-tenant, foreclosure, bankruptcy, taxes, wages and hours, employment discrimination, public benefits, immigration and workplace safety, elder law, estate planning, disability law, special education, or related topics, make Oregon Law Help one of your first stops on the Internet.

Your next stops might be 211 Info, your public library, and your public law library. And there’s more! But we’ll save those for another blog post.

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A lot of “law & tech” endeavors often widen the gap between the legal haves and have-nots (think “digital dead end“), but this Law Decoded project (in progress) shows real promise, in addition to having a high cool factor, which never hurts. And even if it stalls, the intention, to make the law truly readable and “accessible” to all, should never be forgotten or lost in that legal-tech forest where you find a plethora of fancier A2J endeavors.

“Discover the Code of Virginia: THE LAWS OF VIRGINIA, FOR NON-LAWYERS.

Virginia Decoded provides the Code of Virginia on one friendly website. Inline definitions, cross-references, bulk downloads, a modern API, and all of the niceties of modern website design. It’s like the expensive software lawyers use, but free and wonderful….” [Link to Virginia Decoded.]

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“Ramsey County Law Library offers DIY help,” by Debra O’Connor, TwinCities dot com, 8/4/14:

Excerpt: “People who have never set foot in a courtroom, and might be wearing baseball hats and shorts, share the elegant, hushed Ramsey County Law Library with lawyers in suits.

They show up because they have legal problems, and here they can find help.

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Please also read previous blog posts on this topic, especially this one: Grandparent Visitation Rights in Oregon

There are lots of free legal forms online and in print, but none of them will be the exact forms you need in your specific case. You can lose a lot of time and money if you file the wrong forms.

Courts are very, very careful when it comes to child custody legal matters. Oregon courts do not have official or fill-in-the-blank child custody legal forms for parents, grandparents, or for any third party seeking child custody. You need to draft your own forms specific to your legal situation.

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Open Law Lab is a wonderful website, curious, provocative, funny, wise, and more. It stands on its own (enjoy!) but it is also an excellent companion to Richard Zorza’s Access to Justice Blog.

One of my (several) favorite Open Law Lab “images of law” is the blog post titled: Law for Normal People. It includes a graphic with this text that pretty much sums up everything that makes legal self-help center and public law library program management so confounding:

“People don’t want to talk to lawyers, but they really want legal advice.“ (See its original posting at the Stanford d. school blog, Whiteboard.) And read more about the lawyer / artist: Margaret Hagan.

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Richard Zorza & David Udell Article: New Roles for Non-Lawyers to Increase Access to Justice

You can also link to this article from the SRLN website or from Richard Zorza’s Access to Justice blog, where you will be able to find dozens, hundreds, of other practical and provocative articles on Access to Justice issues.

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The Clackamas Review wrote a great story about our small claims court programs generally (see video) and the Clackamas County Small Claims Court Program specifically!

“Make the most of your time in small-claims court,” by Raymond Rendleman, Clackamas Review, June 9, 2014

Excerpt: “Jennifer Dalglish, the Clackamas County law librarian is dedicated to providing equal access to legal information and legal-research assistance to all citizens, so she is always looking for new and improved ways to do so.

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Program: Everything You Need to Know About Clackamas County Small Claims Court, Resolution Services and Justice Court

When: Thursday, June 12, 2014 – 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm

Where: Oregon City Public Library

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