Most of us are familiar with the adage “he who represents himself has a fool for a client” and in some cases, particularly criminal that is probably true. However, when presented with finding, as well as affording the services of an attorney in say civil cases, pro se may be the only way to go. Pro se by definition is when an individual represents his or herself in a court of law. I can say from personal experience,that this is not an impossible feat. My circumstances involved a family member who was a victim of discrimination within the school system and while I did initially have the support and resources of the American Civil Liberties Union, the attorney my son was assigned was in my opinion incompetent, as well as dishonest. Once I decided to terminate his services I was on my own, as the case had already been filed. I had to re file to amend the complaint and I had a limited window in which to do so. The ability to locate the appropriate resources enabled me to proceed on my own to ensure my son’s case would be heard in open court.
The first step in self representation involves determining whether your case has merit. It is extremely important to make this determination before going forward with your complaint as the courts frown on complaints deemed frivolous, meaning without merit. Once you have decided to move forward you will want to draw up your complaint. Your complaint should include the following, the name of the plaintiff who is the person filing the complaint, the name of the defendant, the party you are bringing legal action against, the supporting facts pertaining to your case and what you are asking for in damages, which can be monetary or which can be a request for a particular action to be taken. There is a fee for filing a complaint and you can obtain this information as well as the necessary forms from the clerk’s office at your local District Court. You will also need to include a civil cover sheet with your complaint which you can also obtain from the clerk’s office. Your complaint will then be reviewed to determine whether or not it has legal merit. Once approved and stamped with a seal you may proceed as advised by the court.
The next step will be in serving the complaint to all parties (defendants) within the complaint. It is a good idea to use a personal service to deliver the complaint to the parties involved, however anyone over 18 can hand deliver such a complaint. The defendant may decide to submit a motion to dismiss the complaint with the court and you will then have a short period of time to respond. This response must be then filed with the court who will decide if the merits of your case warrant proceeding. If the defendant’s motion to dismiss is denied they will be required to respond to your initial complaint and your case should then move forward. If the defendants motion to dismiss is granted than some or all of your claims may be dismissed by the court.
If the defendant’s motion to dismiss is denied following their required response to the court, the next step is discovery. This involves the gathering of all of the supporting evidence of your case. Discovery allows both you and the defendant to gather as much information allowed, pertaining to the complaint, prior to appearing in court. The court will then look at the possibility of settlement between the parties in an attempt to avoid a sometimes lengthy legal process. A summary judgment may occur if the judge determines that the case has no legs to stand up in court, in other words supporting law does not warrant relief i.e. damages. If your case however is supported by law then it will proceed through the legal process until resolved one way or another. Pro se is certainly not for everyone as it can be time consuming and it requires a great deal of literacy, but there are many available resources to help you along the way. I have included several links below that will help you get started. Good luck!
