Courtroom5

Be Your Own Lawyer

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The Crackheads and Extortionists Who Sell State Laws

Imagine you’ve been sued for foreclosure, failure to pay a debt, or eviction. Or you must sue for custody of your children or grandchildren. You’re in danger of losing important things. You can’t afford a lawyer, but you can represent yourself. To have a fighting chance, you need free and easy access to laws. Then, in walks the state. Actually, “walks” isn’t the right word. Let’s say, stumbles, limps, shuffles or bumbles. It wants to charge you for access to the laws you need. Your chances of winning, which weren’t good to begin with, are greatly reduced by a state that is acting like a crackhead and extortionist.

And if you need help representing yourself in civil court, it’s time to join Courtroom5.

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How To Analyze A Civil Case And Craft A Litigation Strategy, Part 2

Earlier, we outlined a recipe for analyzing a case and creating a litigation strategy. The right litigation strategy can help a pro se litigant choose the next step in a case. In this second part, we use a simple slip and fall scenario to test the recipe. Thinking through your own scenario from beginning to end can be the start of a successful experience in court.

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Understanding Motions, Pleadings And Other Litigation Documents

Litigation documents are not the first thing the average person thinks about when they hear the term “legal documents”. Wills, deeds, powers of attorney, tax forms, come to mind first. These are legal documents, but they’re not for the purposes of litigation.
Litigation documents are less formulaic and more intimidating than these. Their purpose is to move a lawsuit along. In that sense, they’re more powerful than documents written on pre-printed forms.

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Why Case Law Can Be Your Best Friend

It’s sometimes difficult to explain to a judge how a statute applies to your set of facts. Without cases to make sense of written laws, statutes can just lay there doing nothing to help you. In litigation, your job is to persuade a judge to rule in your favor in hearings and at trial. To do this, you want to fill in the gaps left by the statute.

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Perspectives On “A Right To Free Lawyers For Civil Litigants”

Judicial bias — shown in things like failing to read pro se filings, barring pro se litigants from conducting voir dire, and other antics — leaves much room for reform in federal and state courts. At least that’s the opinion of two experienced pro se litigants who left extensive comments on our recent ‘civil Gideon’ post.