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PRINCETON JUNCTION, N.J.--Flipping through Time Magazine last week, I came across a headline that jeered, "Who Needs Lawyers?" The story underneath described how a growing number of Americans, frustrated by expensive attorneys and empowered by the likes of Judge Judy, are filing cases pro se--that is, representing themselves in court. In fact, the trend has become so widespread that local court systems have had to go to great lengths to accommodate scores of pro se litigants who, if left to their own devices, bog down hearings as they struggle to decode complicated legal proceedings...
Most people who file pro se--Latin for "in one's own behalf"--do so because they can't afford a lawyer, and the rest just don't want one. "They think it's kind of cool to say, 'I don't need a stupid lawyer,'" says attorney Gay Conroy, who counsels pro se filers in Ventura, Calif. TV shows like Judge Judy and legal websites like Ed Koch's TheLaw.com may embolden people by demystifying the courthouse. And antilawyer sentiment remains as potent as ever. "This is an era of do-it-yourself," says Kathleen Sampson of the American...
Except that homeowners who botch their deck repairs don't usually end up clogging the whole neighborhood with their debris. In the courts, while some pro se filers are very effective, many more wreak havoc and delay. "They don't know how to get the forms. They don't know how to fill them out," says Lisa Kahn, a circuit-court judge in Viera, Fla. Some pro se litigants drag out hearings to punish their spouse. They call women judges by their first name. They turn in forms blotched with suspicious stains. And God help them if their opponent...
Recently some courts have surrendered to the pro se trend. In January, Ventura County, Calif., started sending a Winnebago through rural towns, giving out forms and guidance. The New Britain, Conn., superior court offers free use of phones, computers and a "do-it-yourself divorce guide" translated into Spanish. Florida has a pro se help desk in each of its 20 circuit courts. Two weeks ago, 130 judges, court administrators and lawyers met in Orlando to discuss what else they could do to help pro se litigants--without encouraging more people to join them...
Last year 71% of those who divorced in Orange County, Fla., did so pro se. That's up 22% from 1998. The court's help desk serves 100 walk-ins a day and still gets complaints from people who can't get through on the phone...