A Revolution on the Federal Judiciary About Treatment of Those Without Lawyers?

An ABA Journal article, could open a whole front in access to justice:

[Judge Posner] abruptly announced his retirement from the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, effective the next day. The reason is due to “difficulty” with his colleagues over the court’s treatment of people who represent themselves, he told the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin in an email.

“I was not getting along with the other judges because I was (and am) very concerned about how the court treats pro se litigants, who I believe deserve a better shake,” Posner said. The issue will be addressed in an upcoming book that will explain his views and those of his colleagues “in considerable detail,” Posner said.

Note that the ABA Journal quotes Harvard law professor Cass Sunstein calling Posner “probably the world’s most influential legal thinker over the last half-century.”

At a minimum, this may cause some in the federal system who have considered these issues as “beneath them,” to reconsider.

We look forward to the book.

p.s.  This has been a record-breaking post, thanks to Larry Tribe’s retweet.  So I am adding a link to a curriculum on the rapidly evolving topic of judicial engagement with those without lawyers.

 

 

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About richardzorza

I am deeply involved in access to justice and the patient voice movement.
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2 Responses to A Revolution on the Federal Judiciary About Treatment of Those Without Lawyers?

  1. Pingback: Seventh Circuit’s Response to Judge Posner Misses the Point | Richard Zorza's Access to Justice Blog

  2. Pingback: More on Judge Posner’s Apostasy | Richard Zorza's Access to Justice Blog

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