One aspect of American law that I rarely discuss in class but should, is the idea that one may represent themselves in court. In legal English this is called Pro Se. While the 6th Amendment has been interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court to guarantee access to a lawyer in criminal cases where the defendant is facing jail time, no similar guarantee exists for individuals who find themselves as part of a civil case. Recent numbers are a bit hard to find, but
a 2005 New Hampshire study showed that in a majority of lower court cases in New Hampshire at least one of the parties was representing themselves and
a 2004 California study found that 4.3 million people were self-represented in court.
To aid people in this situation,
a new website has emerged, complete with a video game that teaches self-litigants the dos and don'ts of self-representation. It's worth look for anyone interested in learning more about who courts operate in the United States.
