{"id":276,"date":"2006-11-10T14:58:48","date_gmt":"2006-11-10T18:58:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/shlep\/2006\/11\/10\/help-for-the-pro-se-defendant\/"},"modified":"2007-01-24T12:20:07","modified_gmt":"2007-01-24T16:20:07","slug":"help-for-the-pro-se-defendant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/shlep\/2006\/11\/10\/help-for-the-pro-se-defendant\/","title":{"rendered":"help for the pro se defendant"},"content":{"rendered":"

In preparing yesterday’s posting<\/a> on the Beninca<\/em> case in Brisbane (Australia), I\u00a0again had\u00a0the impression that the vast majority of self-help materials for litigants is written from the perspective of the person filing a claim (the plaintiff, petitioner, claimant), and not the person being sued.\u00a0\u00a0 Maybe I’ve seen an unrepresentative sample of resources from court websites and self-help centers.\u00a0\u00a0 If so, I hope that pro se<\/em> practitioners, law librarians, self-helpers and others in the know, will help correct that impression by letting us know, in Comments to this posting (or in postings of your own here or elsewhere), of materials that have been prepared to assist those who are appearing in court without a lawyer, or considering doing so, after being sued<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here are a few defendant\/respondent-oriented materials to start our collection:<\/p>\n

For California Small Claims: What to do if you are being sued<\/a>.<\/p>\n

From Nova Scotia (Canada): How to\u00a0File a Defence in a Civil Court Case<\/a>.<\/p>\n

From the Law Courts Education Society of British Columbia [Canada]: Responding to an Appeal – Civil Cases<\/a> [15-pp pdf.]<\/p>\n

From New Jersey: How to Answer a Complaint in the Special Civil Part<\/a> (March 2006), relating to cases under $15,000.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"bombFuse\"\u00a0Appearing without a lawyer as the plaintiff is scary.\u00a0 Having to do so when you are the one being sued and facing a judgment against you has to be, in general, even scarier.\u00a0 Let’s create a good list here of documents helpful to such individuals. [Afterthought<\/em>: Even if written from the perspective of those filing a claim or starting a lawsuit, most materials at\u00a0judicial websites for the self-represented contain information about court procedures and the presentation of a case that can also be used\/adapted by the defendant.\u00a0\u00a0After reading such general self-help documents,\u00a0litigants who are not sure how to respond pro se<\/em> to a lawsuit, should should not be shy about asking court staff for help clarifying procedures.]<\/p>\n

update<\/em> (Jan. 24, 2007): I discovered yesterday that Illinois Legal Aid has created self-help and informational materials for defendants or respondents. Along with many other general or plaintiff-oriented self-help articles, you’ll find links to the following pieces in the SideBar of the linked\u00a0Illinois Legal Aid Online<\/em> webpage<\/a>:<\/p>\n