In the spring of 2015, the Indiana Supreme Court appointed a 10-member Ad Hoc Assessment Team and charged them with examining the structure of the Indiana Pro Bono Commission, the Indiana Commission to Expand Access to Civil Legal Services, and the Committee on Unrepresented Litigants. The Assessment Team generated a report recommending merger of the three bodies into one entity with a more focused and comprehensive … [Read more...] about Coalition for Court Access
Pro Se
Indiana Rules of Court: Attorney Temporary Appearances and Limited Representation
More individuals, primarily for economic reasons, are choosing to represent themselves in court proceedings, which is creating a strain on court staff and judges. Many times these unrepresented litigants find they are in over their head and look for help from the private bar, or pro bono lawyers. When this happened in the past, lawyers faced a dilemma because of the difficulty in only providing limited … [Read more...] about Indiana Rules of Court: Attorney Temporary Appearances and Limited Representation
$450,000 Awarded to Assist Unrepresented and Limited English Proficiency Litigants
For the last decade, trial courts across the country have increasingly faced the tough legal, logistical, and ethical dilemmas that often accompany cases involving unrepresented litigants (URLs). Without sufficient knowledge of court processes and procedures, URLs may miss important deadlines or fail to take key actions associated with the handling of their case. Judges and court staff can become frustrated at an … [Read more...] about $450,000 Awarded to Assist Unrepresented and Limited English Proficiency Litigants
Facilitation: A Win-Win for Courts and Unrepresented Litigants
More and more litigants in family law cases are appearing in Indiana’s courts without the assistance of lawyers. Whether this phenomenon is due to economic reasons, the proliferation of self-service information on the Internet, or other factors, the fact remains that these unrepresented litigants need assistance in completing pleading, filing them, preparing for court hearings, and understanding the court p … [Read more...] about Facilitation: A Win-Win for Courts and Unrepresented Litigants
US Supreme Court Examines Services for Self-Represented Litigants
The treatment of self-represented litigants is an ongoing dilemma for Indiana courts. Judges grapple with questions of how to effectively ensure access to justice for these litigants, who may be at a disadvantage in proceedings where important rights are at stake. This question was addressed by the United States Supreme Court in 2011 in Turner v. Rogers, 131 S.Ct 2507 (2011). Although the ruling in this case was … [Read more...] about US Supreme Court Examines Services for Self-Represented Litigants