Category Archives: Self-Help Services

Brilliant Idea — Sonoma County Court Strategic Plan Highlights Litigant Assistance Network and Triage

Posted on August 31, 2011 by richardzorza

With funding from SJI, Sonoma Court, California has completed an excellent Strategic Planning Document. While it includes many valuable ideas, and is focused at least initially somewhat on the huge challenges of providing culturally competent services, I particularly want to … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Boards, Funding, Legal Aid, LEP, Self-Help Services, Systematic Change, Triage | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Self-Represented Litigants: Litterature Review Conducted in UK

Posted on August 25, 2011 by richardzorza

The UK Ministry of Justice has completed a literature review about self-represented litigants (whom they call “Litigants in person.”) The review included international sources, at least as to formal research. The overall conclusions:     While some good quality evidence existed, … Continue reading →

Posted in Judicial Ethics, Research and Evalation, Self-Help Services, SRL Statistics | Tagged | Comments Off on Self-Represented Litigants: Litterature Review Conducted in UK

Important New Report/Compilation on Self-Representation Resources in the States from John Greacen and Michigan State Bar Foundation

Posted on August 2, 2011 by richardzorza

We have long needed a compilation of what the states have in place to assist the self-represented, and the Michigan State Bar Foundation recently contracted with John Greacen of Greacen Associates to prepare such a document to assist the state … Continue reading →

Posted in Document Assembly, Forms, Judicial Ethics, Self-Help Services, Technology | Comments Off on Important New Report/Compilation on Self-Representation Resources in the States from John Greacen and Michigan State Bar Foundation

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

Great New Jane Austen “Quote” in Article on Vermont Access Coalition Activities

Posted on July 19, 2011 by richardzorza

Justice Denise Johnson sits on the Vermont Supreme Court and Chairs the state Access to Justice Coalition. She has written a fine article in the Vermont Bar Journal, about that Coalition’s admirable and comprehensive activities.  Well worth a read for … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Boards, Access to Justice Generally, Legal Aid, Pro Bono, Self-Help Services, Triage | Tagged | Comments Off on Great New Jane Austen “Quote” in Article on Vermont Access Coalition Activities

Nice Introductory Video on Texas Court Processes for the Self-Represented

Posted on July 18, 2011 by richardzorza

This is a great model introduction to court processes now up on YouTube, thanks to the Texas Access to Justice Commission, the Lubbock County Bar, and Texas Legal Services Center. Here it is: Note the nice job they do promiting … Continue reading →

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Turner Symposium — Link to Review and Refocusing Questions

Posted on June 23, 2011 by richardzorza

Here is the first couple of paras of the review and refocusing post on the Turner Symposium on the ConcurringOpinions blog: As of day three, post Turner, some trends have begun to emerge in the commentary, on this blog at … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Forms, Judicial Ethics, Self-Help Services, Supreme Court | Comments Off on Turner Symposium — Link to Review and Refocusing Questions

Turner v. Rogers is Released — Due Process Requires Reversal Despite Lack of Categorical Right to Counsel — Symposium Launched on ComcurringOpinions

Posted on June 20, 2011 by richardzorza

The Supreme Court has decided Turner v. Rogers. Opinion by Justice Breyer (5-4), with Justice Kennedy joining the majority. http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/10pdf/10-10.pdf. AP Story, via NYT David Udell and I have launched our Symposium on ConcurrngOpinions. The post below is a copy … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Counsel, Dept. of Justice, Document Assembly, Forms, Judicial Ethics, Legal Aid, Self-Help Services, Supreme Court, Triage | Comments Off on Turner v. Rogers is Released — Due Process Requires Reversal Despite Lack of Categorical Right to Counsel — Symposium Launched on ComcurringOpinions

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

Thoughts on Health Centers as Legal Information Access Points — A Very Fundable and Partnerable Access-Increasing Concept

Posted on June 13, 2011 by richardzorza

We have made lots of progress in the last couple of years on bringing in public libraries as partners and access points for legal information. Its time to think about other such partners.  Given that money is going to be … Continue reading →

Posted in Dept. of Justice, Libraries, Self-Help Services, Technology | Tagged | 2 Comments

DOJ Targets Immigration Assistance Scams — A Step Needed to Access Innovation

Posted on June 11, 2011 by richardzorza

Its good to hear that DOJ is going after immigration assistance scams. This is important not only because of the all too many people who are badly hurt — both financially and in terms of their legal situations — by … Continue reading →

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Elder Courts — The Next Frontier? Calfornia Model Wins Award

Posted on June 7, 2011 by richardzorza

Elder courts are surely a wave of the future –if only because of the demographics, and the need to focus social service and support resources in the courthouse when senior cases are to be there.  It can not hurt that … Continue reading →

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From the Access to Justice Blog: Justice on Wheels in the Phillippines

Posted on May 19, 2011 by richardzorza

This from the Access to Justice Blog: The Justice on Wheels is an access to justice programme which was commenced in 2004 by the country’s Supreme Court  following the example of the Guatemalan Mobile Court System. JOW aims to bring … Continue reading →

Posted in Self-Help Services, Technology | Tagged | 1 Comment

California Conference on Self-Represented Litigants — Open for Out-of-Staters — Now Open for Registration

Posted on May 15, 2011 by richardzorza

This is highly recommended.  The Conference will be in San Franciso at the Milton Marks Conference Center, 455 Golden Gate Avenue.  The main conference begins on Thursday, June 9 at 10:00 a.m. and lasts until 3:30 p.m. on Friday, June … Continue reading →

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ABA Posts Draft Standards for Language Access in the Courts — A Massive Project

Posted on May 9, 2011 by richardzorza

ABA’s SCAID has now posted its Draft Standards for Language Access in the Courts.  The project is described here.  The Steering Committee and Project Advisory Group are listed here.  There will be an Open Forum/Teleconference on Thursday, May 26, 2011, … Continue reading →

Posted in LEP, Self-Help Services | 1 Comment