Category Archives: Federal Courts

Jim Sandman’s Comment on the Nomination of Judge Garland and Access to Justice

Posted on March 17, 2016 by richardzorza

Many of us have been wondering about the potential implications of the nomination of Judge Garland for access to justice. Well, here is one very important clue, a comment by LSC President Jim Sandman.  Jim is, of course, a former … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Federal Courts, Supreme Court, White House | Comments Off on Jim Sandman’s Comment on the Nomination of Judge Garland and Access to Justice

Add Access to Justice As A Criteria for “Just Companies” An Idea Urged By Paul Tudor Jones II, hedge-fund billionaire

Posted on December 21, 2015 by richardzorza

Under the wonderful headline, A Plan to Rank ‘Just’ Companies Aims to Close the Wealth Gap, Alexandra Stanley has a great article in today’s New York Times. Like all the best ideas, this one is simple: Paul Tudor Jones II, … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Consumer Rights, Federal Courts, Rules Reform, Supreme Court, Systematic Change | 1 Comment

Courts are Dysfunctinal for Different Kinds of Litigants in Profoundly Different Ways

Posted on May 25, 2014 by richardzorza

It seems to me that the discussions about how to make courts work again have suffered from a problem of fragmentation. While basically all courts operate under the same rules, based on the 1930’s Federal Rule project, there are now … Continue reading →

Posted in Federal Courts, Foreclosure, Rules Reform, Simplification, Systematic Change | Comments Off on Courts are Dysfunctinal for Different Kinds of Litigants in Profoundly Different Ways

More On Impact of DC Events on Judicial Deference to Congress

Posted on October 13, 2013 by richardzorza

Professor Tribe has pointed out to me, in response to my recent blog post about the possible impact of DC happenings on judicial deference to Congress, that: “. . . deference to Congress isn’t either good or bad in itself, … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Budget Issues, Federal Courts, Supreme Court | Comments Off on More On Impact of DC Events on Judicial Deference to Congress

Will DC Events Impact Judicial Deference to Congress

Posted on October 13, 2013 by richardzorza

There is an interesting article in Politico today about how anger at Congress is increasing in the Federal Judiciary.  The article focuses mainly on how upset the courts are at the financial impact of sequestration and the shutdown on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Budget Issues, Federal Courts | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

What Happens When a Federal Court Pays Attention to the Self-Represented — the Central District of California Bankruptcy Court Is A Model for Us All

Posted on October 18, 2012 by richardzorza

The Central District of California Bankruptcy Court has released its report on the self-represented. Self-represented, or pro se, litigants comprise over one quarter of the debtors filing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California. In early … Continue reading →

Posted in Bankruptcy, E-filing, Federal Courts, Self-Help Services | 2 Comments

Southern District of NY Pro Se Trial Manual

Posted on April 16, 2012 by richardzorza

The Southern District of New York provides to all self-represented litigants whose cases are scheduled for trial this Trial-Ready Manual, prepared with the assistance of the Committee of the Federal Courts of the New York County Lawyers’ Association. As the … Continue reading →

Posted in Federal Courts, Self-Help Services, Simplification | Comments Off on Southern District of NY Pro Se Trial Manual

First Reports of Survey of Federal Court Self-Represented Litigation Services

Posted on July 22, 2011 by richardzorza

As the Federal Court blog puts it: “The Judicial Conference Committee on Court Administration and Case Management (CACM) asked the Federal Judicial Center (FJC) to survey chief district judges and clerks of court on the assistance their district courts provide … Continue reading →

Posted in Federal Courts, Pro Bono, Self-Help Services, Unbundling | Comments Off on First Reports of Survey of Federal Court Self-Represented Litigation Services

New Stats on Increasing Federal Non-Prisoner SRL Cases — More Federal Court SRL Program Networking Starting

Posted on June 16, 2011 by richardzorza

The US Courts News Blog has undated statistics on prisoner and non-prisoner self-represented cases. Key text: But the number of non-prisoner pro se cases has been climbing as well. In FY 2010, that total was 24,319. It was 22,821 in … Continue reading →

Posted in Federal Courts, Self-Help Services, SRL Statistics, Unbundling | Comments Off on New Stats on Increasing Federal Non-Prisoner SRL Cases — More Federal Court SRL Program Networking Starting

Pro Se Clerks in the Federal Courts — A Base for Self-Help Innovation

Posted on April 20, 2011 by richardzorza

The Third Branch, with official news from the Federal Courts, has an interesting piece on pro se clerks in the Federal system. The core point: the court staff put in place to deal with prisoner petitions are now working on … Continue reading →

Posted in Federal Courts, Meetings, Self-Help Services, Unbundling | Comments Off on Pro Se Clerks in the Federal Courts — A Base for Self-Help Innovation