Ways Self-Represented Litigants Can Help Improve the Justice System
Justice system reform is slow and difficult work and opportunities for change vary tremendously between jurisdictions. The following offers some ideas for your consideration if you are interested in helping to make courts better in your community.
Year published:
2022
Document Author:
SRLN
SRLN Brief: Advocacy Strategies & Relationship Building to Improve SRL Services (SRLN 2021)
The Justice for All Initiative envisions a future in which civil justice is administered through a continuum of services, from self-help materials to alternative dispute resolution to limited-scope or full legal representation. In this continuum, individual litigants receive precisely the help they need—no more and no less, and lawyers work “at the top of their licenses,” able to trim overhead to increase profit.
Year published:
2021
Document Author:
SRLN
News: Montana Legal Services Steps In to Protect SRL Rights (Tashea 2017)
Without $60, Montana Courts were going to leave Troy and Wendy Hadley out in the cold.
In February 2016, the Hadley’s received an eviction notice from the Montana Housing Authority. Without income and receiving food stamps, the Hadley’s wrote their own petition requesting a fee waiver so that they could respond to the eviction. The presiding judge denied the request, which meant the Hadleys would not be allowed to respond in court unless they came up with the money.
Year published:
2017
Document Author:
Jason Tashea