Why are there so many Pro Se Litigants in Family Court? More and more people are representing themselves in court, throughout the United States Family Court cases have seen an increase of Pro Se Litigants of almost 60% representing themselves without an attorney. In California it is estimated that almost 80% of all divorces are now none contested. It appears this increase of Pro Se Litigants is the results of many factors:
1) An increase of having access to information on the Internet.
2) Legal forms online or at the court house are more available to Pro Se Litigants.
3) Continued increase of attorneys fees and not being able to afford an attorney.
Pro Se Litigants face a number of problems and disadvantages in Family Court, one disadvantage is our legal system is not designed to accommodate Pro Se Litigants without attorneys. A large number of low income Pro Se Litigants are confused about the law, court courtesy, limited or no literacy of court procedures and language barriers are just a few of the problems Pro Se Litigants face in Family Court.
Making legal services more affordable to all consumers I believe would close the gap between those who are represented by attorneys and those who are forced to become Pro Se Litigants. An example of affordable legal services is when an attorney is "Unbundling" their legal services for all and this would reduce the total costs of representation. Pro Se Litigants will always represent themselves in court, the issue is the increasing number of Pro Se Litigants.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment