Pro Se
Services
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(AL)
Committee on Pro se Litigation is examining areas where procedures could be
implemented to help address the inefficiencies of self-representation
by non-lawyers.
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(DE)
Pro
se litigants may obtain informational materials at the Court without cost.
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(IN)
During 2000, the Supreme Court received a $50,000 grant from
the State Justice Institute to staff a statewide pro
se office to give citizens better access to the legal system.
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(VT)
In collaboration with the Bar, Vermont developed and piloted a Pro
se education course. The
program expanded statewide in 2000.
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(VA)
Recent action items of the Judicial Council of Virginia include
plans to create “district
court service centers” to better assist pro se and other litigants who use the courts for dispute resolution
and plans to develop and sponsor a statewide conference on public
trust and confidence in the courts.
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(ME)
The Maine State Bar Association is actively involved in a joint
effort with the court system, Justice Action Group (JAG), the Board of
Overseers of the Bar, and the Maine Bar Foundation to “unbundle”
legal services in order to provide limited representation where
appropriate to otherwise unrepresented litigants through courthouse
assistance projects. This
effort requires rules changes and education of the bar and the public.
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(ME)
Tree Legal Services, the Bar Foundation, and the court system
have collaborated to create the HelpMeLaw Web site, intended to be a
comprehensive statewide “portal” for low-income Mainers seeking
legal assistance and information of any sort. It will include an instructional video, interactive
pleadings, and legal primers. Funding
for development of the site comes from a LSC TIG grant.
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(NM)
New Mexico sent a dozen representatives to the American
Judicature Society Conference on Pro Se Litigation in Scottsdale in
1999. That team’s
report led the Supreme Court to create a Self-Represented Litigants
Working Group to examine the impact of self-representation on our
legal system and to develop recommendations for responding to this new
challenge. Efforts culminated in the submission of a Final Report to the
Supreme Court of New Mexico. Some
of the Working Group’s recommendations are already under development
or consideration by other Supreme Court agencies and local bar
associations. These
include: (1) amending the Rules of Professional Conduct to encourage
attorneys to satisfy part of their pro bono obligation by devoting
time to court-sponsored Pro se assistance programs; (2)
amending the Rules of Professional Conduct to encourage attorneys to
provide litigants with limited legal representation, also known as
“unbundled legal services”; (3) encouraging local courts and bar
associations to collaborate in the creation attorney-sponsored clinics
to educate citizens who are considering whether to represent
themselves; (4) designating specific court employees who would be
responsible for working with litigants who come to court without a
lawyer; and (5) developing specialized training for the annual court
clerks conferences and judicial conclave to educate judges and court
staff about methods for effectively dealing with self-represented
litigants. Long range efforts include:
(1) encouraging courts to cooperate with local bar associations
to increase the use of lawyers by developing systems for providing
litigants with referrals to lawyers who are willing to provide
unbundled, low cost, or free legal services;
(2) evaluating the feasibility of implementing a pro se hearing
officer system; (3) evaluating the feasibility of developing a
comprehensive system for managing cases in which a litigant appears in
court without a lawyer; and (4) compiling reliable data on the scope
of self-representation in the courts.
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(NY)
New York's Office of Justice Initiatives is conducting a
survey of Trial Court Programs and Services
& a Survey of the Self-Represented to determine the extent to which
courts are providing assistance to self-represented litigants and to ensure
that programs being developed meet their needs.
The Office also is developing Judicial and Non-Judicial Education Programs to ensure that judges and court staff are aware of their
obligations to assist the self-represented and the manner in which they can
fulfill these obligations.
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Pro Bono Services
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(AL)
The Committee on Indigent Defense Services has recommended a
statewide comprehensive indigent defense commission that would provide
an efficient means of administering indigent defense services
statewide, including capital defense representation at the post
conviction stage.
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(AR)
The Arkansas Bar Association continues to work to secure state
funding for legal services for the poor in civil matters.
On March 23, 2001, the Association was a co-sponsor of the
“Access to Justice Symposium” along with the legal services
programs in Arkansas.
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(IN)
In late 2000 the Indiana Pro
Bono Commission, a committee appointed by the Supreme Court and
the Bar Foundation, reviewed plans to promote pro
bono work for indigent civil litigants in the state’s 14
judicial districts. In January 2001, the Commission awarded over $300,000 in
grants to the 14 districts to fund their pro
bono plans. In some counties, two-thirds of the attorneys agreed
to take cases on a pro bono
basis. Since 1997, the
Supreme Court’s Division of State Court Administration has been
responsible for administering a state fund for legal assistance to
indigent persons in civil cases.
In 1999-2000, the Division made distributions, totaling one million dollars, to
eleven organizations providing civil legal aid services to Indiana’s
poor.
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(IN)
The Indiana Pro Bono Commission is also cooperating with
the Indiana Justice Center in efforts to develop a comprehensive,
integrated delivery system to ensure access to justice for low-income
people. A February 2001
Access to Justice Conference provided a forum for bar members and
legal services providers to discuss and organize pro
bono efforts in response to the Indiana Supreme Court’s new rule
of Professional Conduct concerning pro
bono.
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(MT)
In 2000, the Montana Supreme Court created a 15-member Equal
Justice Task Force comprised of 8 lawyers, a judge, and 6 persons
considered active participants in the justice system.
The purpose of the Task Force is to study the legal needs of
low and moderate income people; provide long-range, integrated
planning among numerous legal assistance providers and other
interested agencies and entities; coordinate civil access to justice;
foster the development of a statewide, integrated civil legal services
delivery system; design and implement new programs to expand access to
justice opportunities; work toward securing adequate funding for civil
access to justice; and report to the Supreme Court at least annually
about its activities and progress.
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(NY)
The Office of Justice Initiatives
is creating an Access to Justice
Center to address the crisis in the provision of civil legal services
for the poor. It is also
hosting Pro Bono Convocations throughout the state to generate
recommendations for a statewide pro bono system for New York.
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(VT)
The Judiciary’s Committee on Fairness and Equal Access to
Justice is collaborating with Legal Aid, Law Line, and others to
gather information regarding the legal needs of low-income Vermonters.
A telephone and personal interview survey of this population
has been conducted.
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(SC)
Through the “Ask a Lawyer” program, lawyers field questions
from the public for free. This
service is now operational five days a week.
The Magistrate’s Court Reform Committee presented rules to
the Court. The Court has
submitted the Rules to the Legislature for approval.
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(SC)
The South Carolina Bar’s Pro
Bono Program has partnered with local paralegal associations,
churches, senior centers, and libraries to present a variety of legal
education seminars and a chance to meet with attorneys privately.
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(MI)
Initiatives such as the Domestic Violence Pro
Bono Project unite a large and diverse group of stakeholders into
a working coalition with a common purpose: to identify and train
attorneys to represent low-income domestic violence victims in civil
proceedings.
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Technology and Access
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(IA) The
Supreme Court prioritized the testing of electronic filing in two
counties and in the appellate courts.
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(NM)
New Mexico’s statewide automation program was the first in
the nation to provide free public access to all court case management
data through the Internet. Because
all district and magistrate courts use the same hardware and case
management information system software, all data can be aggregated
into a statewide data repository.
Public access is provided on a case-by-case basis through the
Internet.
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(NM)
In March 1999, the Eleventh Judicial District in Farmington and
Aztec implemented a pilot electronic filing system for all new
criminal and juvenile cases. The
system allows attorneys to file all pleadings from their offices and
to access all pleadings electronically from their offices as well.
All documents in these cases are available at no cost to the
public through the judiciary’s Internet case look up.
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(NY)
The court system is
designing a virtual Court Assistance Center which will provide simple,
easy-to-understand information about the law, courts, and legal
referrals on the web.
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(OH)
Ohio citizens will soon be able to use the Internet to file
documents with some courts. The
Supreme Court of Ohio is set to adopt an electronic signature rule
that will take affect July 1st. It is the first recommendation of the Ohio Courts Futures
Commission to be adopted. Several
trial courts have already announced they will accept electronic
filings as soon as the new rule takes affect.
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(UT) Automation
advances, like electronic filing, video arraignment, and telephonic
case information and payment systems are making court processes much
more accessible and efficient. The
latter system allows the public to check the status of cases or pay
traffic tickets automatically, using a telephone any time of the day
or night.
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Evolving
Role of the Courts
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(NE) The Office of
Dispute Resolution, created in 1991, is part of the Administrative
Office of the Courts. The
Office, with input from its advisory council, oversees the development
of dispute resolution and collaborative problem solving programs in
Nebraska. The office
works collaboratively with six non-profit mediation centers that
provide services to the entire state.
The ODR system serves citizens from all economic levels, but
67% of the clients served earned $20,000 or less.
Through outreach, training, and workshops, the ODR system
touched over 5000 Nebraska citizens during 1999-2000. The system is
dependent on trained volunteers committed to the common goal of peace
making. Over 7,000
volunteer hours were logged during 1999-2000.
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(MA)
The Reinventing Justice projects continue to operate within the
Trial Court. These grass roots court/community collaborations began in
Franklin County and have spread to Essex and Hampshire Counties and
the West Roxbury section of Boston. They include court/community
councils or collaboration boards, open houses, education programs,
development of court specific brochures which have been translated
into the languages of the community the courts serve, information
booths at courthouses staffed by volunteers, restorative justice
panels, and town meetings.
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(NY)
As an alternative to
the litigation process, the court system continues to develop
Alternative Dispute Resolution initiatives that are responsive to the
needs of the communities and court environments in which they operate.
New York’s statewide network of 62 community-based
not-for-profit community dispute resolution centers provide a forum
where citizens can seek resolution of their disputes, including minor
criminal, civil and family matters.
Also under development is an Attorney-Client Fee Dispute
Resolution Program for clients who seek to arbitrate fee
dispute matters, and Family Court Mediation Projects which focus on
parenting issues such as child custody and visitation in Family Court.
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(OH)
A judge of the Medina
County Common Pleas Court is holding pre-trial hearings
over Internet chat rooms. Some
experts believe it is the first court in the country to hold
cyberspace hearings. The Judge
began the practice last fall to accommodate the increasing
number of out-of-town lawyers in his court.
A participating attorney reports that it saves his clients the cost of a 90-minute
drive to the court for a 15-minute hearing.
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(OH) Courts in
Union and Wood counties are holding evening sessions in an attempt
to improve public access and alleviate the need for litigants
to take time off of work. A Wood
County Juvenile Judge holds session at night twice a
month. In Union County, a
Common Pleas Court judge conducts night court once a month
twenty miles from his courtroom so that citizens do not have to make
the drive. A magistrate
hears cases in another part of the county on a different night.
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(UT) Case manager
positions have been created in three counties.
The manager reviews all divorce filings, meets with the
parties, and assesses which track the case should be put on – trial,
mediation, or uncontested. This saves the parties and the court both time and money
compared to a traditional process.
Mediation programs include those for victim-offender, child
welfare, parental visitation, and truancy.
The latter programs are being expanded in local schools.
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(VT) The Vermont
Family Court Mediation Program provides subsidized neutral and
confidential mediation services. The VFCMP, the Vermont Bar
Association, and other Vermont organizations sponsor the annual May
Conflict Resolution Month.
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(WA)
Making recommendations to the Board for Judicial Administration
regarding the need for legislative changes or changes to court rules
and procedures, including those that reduce court complexity, cost,
and delay while ensuring that the courts demographically reflect the
communities they serve.
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