Information for Attorneys about the Pro Se Party

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="2f4285a1erlcgo.png"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" ><B>33rd Judicial District Court -- Other Info</B></FONT><B>     |     </B><A HREF="http://www.dcourt.org/_other" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.dcourt.org/_other"><U><B>home</B></U></A><B>     </B><A HREF="prose.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Pro Se Litigants"><U><B>Up One Level</B></U></A><B>   </B><A HREF="atty_prose_m.htm" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="Information for Attorneys about the Pro "><U><B>Top of This Page</B></U></A><B>   </B><A HREF="http://www.dcourt.org/search.htm" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.dcourt.org/search.htm"><U><B>Search This Site</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="info_prose.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Information for Pro Se Litigant"><U>Information for Pro Se Litigant</U></A>   |   <B>Information for Attorneys about the Pro Se Party</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFCC66" TEXT="#080000" background="2f3d2c00dkelyh.png"> <div> <TABLE BORDER="1" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="139" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#0099CC" BORDERCOLORDARK="#0000CC" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 57 ><NOBR><div> <B>MAIN SITE MAP</B></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.dcourt.org" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.dcourt.org"><U><B>Home</B></U></A><B>      </B><A HREF="http://www.dcourt.org/_attys" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.dcourt.org/_attys"><U><B>Attorneys</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.dcourt.org/_public" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.dcourt.org/_public"><U><B>Public</B></U></A><B>     </B><A HREF="http://www.dcourt.org/_other" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.dcourt.org/_other"><U><B>Other  Info</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="info_prose.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Information for Pro Se Litigant"><U>Information for Pro Se Litigant</U></A></div> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c800000000.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Information for Attorneys about the Pro Se Party</B></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#EEEEEE" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>Information for Attorneys about the Pro Se Party</I></div> <bR> <div> <B>May an attorney assist a </B><I><B>pro se</B></I><B> client?</B></div> <div> This is apparently an unclear area. In a 1998 article in the bar journal   there appeared a brief discussion which will be paraphrased here. Editorial. (July 1998) "Ethics -- With Pro Se On the Rise, Some Important Concerns."  <U>Texas Bar Journal,</U><U> </U><U>Vol. 61, No. 7</U>,  629.  Concerns raised in the article include:</div> <div> <I><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c800000000.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Unauthorized practice of law</I>. The opinion was that mere assistance was usually not a problem because the nonlawyer undertaking self-representation is not engaging in the unauthorized practice of law, by definition. </div> <div> <I><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c800000000.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Limiting the Scope of Representation</I>.  Any limited representation must be undertaken only if the client consents <B>after initial consultation</B> with the lawyer. The article properly points out that the effect of such limitation on representation may depend on the complexity of the legal matter and the ability of the client to understand the implications of limited representation.</div> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c800000000.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Note:</B>  The limited representation does not apply to permit consulting with or giving advice to, both spouses in a divorce matter.</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c800000000.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">One federal court (at the time of the article in 1998) found that a firm which drafted forms for pro se clients without disclosing the assistance to the court underminded the entent and purpose of ethical rules and Fed. R. Civ. P. 11.  <I>Laaremont-Lopez v. Southeastern Tidewater Opportunity Project</I>, 968 F.Supp. 1075 (E.D.Va. 1997). </div> <bR> <div> <B>Some Possible Ways Lawyers Might Assist the Pro Se Litigant.</B></div> <div> The number of pro se litigants is steadily increasing. Lawyers can either leave them to fend for themselves or can seek innovative ways to provide effective services within the ethical boundaries. Possibilities include:</div> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Pro se divorce clinics operated by the local bar association or the community.</B></div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c800000000.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Private attorneys offering "unbundled" services, i.e. limited representation by providing specifically defined services whereby the client handles part of the case themselves.</div> <bR> <div> <B>The dangers:</B></div> <div> The client must understand, and the lawyer must help the client to understand, that self-representation is fraught with dangers.  As the complexities of society have increased so have the legal structures that affect the litigant. Consider, for example, the outline used by most judges in reviewing the request by a criminal defendant to for self-representation. The discussion will include the following matters:</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c800000000.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">age;</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c800000000.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">occupation;</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c800000000.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">educational background;</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c800000000.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">previous court experience with criminal trials and whether that experience includes representation by counsel or self-representation;</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c800000000.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">competency, whether or not defendant has experienced any mental or emotional problems, has been adjudged incompetent, or considers himself or herself illiterate, etc.;</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c800000000.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">indigency, and whether defendant has made attempts to hire counsel;</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c800000000.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">reasons for desiring self-representation, and whether or not his waiver is due to duress, coercion, any hope of a lighter punishment, or sympathy;</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c800000000.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">awareness of: the nature of the charges pending;</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c800000000.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">the total range of punishment;</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c800000000.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">any possible defenses;</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c800000000.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">awareness and knowledge of:</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c800000000.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">the rules of evidence;</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c800000000.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">trial procedure; or</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c800000000.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">that there is more to it than simply telling one’s story; and</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c800000000.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">that the defendant does not feel pressured into</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c800000000.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">representing himself or herself.</div> <bR> <div> While that outline pertains to the criminal case, one can extrapolate from there to the civil case and imagine the extensive discussion necessary.</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>