Benchguide: Handling Cases Involving Self-Represented ...

1 Handling Cases Involving Self-Represented Litigants A BENCHGUIDE FOR JUDICIAL OFFICERS JANUARY 2007 A Benchguide for Judicial Officers January 2007 ii Judicial Council of california Administrative Office of the Courts Center for Families, Children & the Courts 455 Golden Gate Avenue San Francisco, CA 94102-3688 This publication was made possible by a grant from the State Justice Institute (SJI-05-N-002), with supplemental funding from the Foundation of the State Bar of california .

2 Points of view expressed herein do not necessarily represent the official positions or policies of the Judicial Council of california , the california Administrative Office of the Courts, the State Justice Institute, or the Foundation of the State Bar of california . Copyright 2007 by Judicial Council of california /Administrative Office of the Courts. All Rights Reserved. Except as permitted under the Copyright Act of 1976 and as otherwise expressly provided herein, no part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including the use of information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the copyright holder.

3 Permission is hereby granted to nonprofit institutions to reproduce and distribute this publication for educational purposes if the copies credit the copyright holder. Printed on 100% recycled and recyclable paper. iii Judicial Council of california ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF THE COURTS CHIEF JUSTICE RONALD M. GEORGE Chair, Judicial Council WILLIAM C. VICKREY Administrative Director of the Courts RONALD G. OVERHOLT Chief Deputy CENTER FOR FAMILIES, CHILDREN & THE COURTS PROJECT STAFF: DIANE NUNN Director CHARLENE E.

4 DEPNER Assistant Director LEE MORHAR Assistant Director BONNIE ROSE HOUGH Supervising Attorney DEBORAH CHASE Senior Attorney JOSEPH NGUYEN Administrative Coordinator JOHN GREACEN Consultant KATHLEEN SIKORA Consultant KELLY TAIT Consultant RICHARD ZORZA Consultant iv HON. KATHLEEN E. O LEARY, CHAIR Associate Justice of the Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division Three MR. ALBERT Y. BALINGIT HON. MICHELE D. LEVINE Attorney, Department of Consumer Affairs, Legal Judge of the Superior Court of california , Services Unit County of Riverside HON.

5 VINCENT J. CHIARELLO MS. SUZANNE CLARK MORLOCK Judge of the Superior Court of california , County of Attorney at Law, Chico Santa Clara MS. TINA L. RASNOW MR. NEAL DUDOVITZ Director, self -Help Legal Access Center, Executive Director, Neighborhood Legal Services of Superior Court of california , County of Ventura Los Angeles County MS. SHAROL STRICKLAND HON. ANDREW GUILFORD Executive Officer, Superior Court of california , United States District Judge, Santa Ana County of Butte HON.

6 DONNA J. HITCHENS HON. ERICA YEW Judge of the Superior Court of california , County of Judge of the Superior Court of california , County San Francisco of Santa Clara MS. MARILYN K. JAMES HON. LAURIE ZELON Director, Evaluation and Planning, Superior Court Associate Justice of the Court of Appeal, Second Of california , County of San Diego Appellate District, Division Seven HON. SUZANNE KINGSBURY MR. JOHN ZORBAS Presiding Judge of the Superior Court of california , Director, Butte County Law Library County of El Dorado Members of the Task Force on Self-Represented Litigants ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF THE COURTS PROJECT STAFF MS.

7 BONNIE ROSE HOUGH, Supervising Attorney MR. KEVIN CHEW, Administrative Coordinator Center for Families, Children & the Courts Center for Families, Children & the Courts DR. DEBORAH J. CHASE, Senior Attorney MS. TRACY KENNY, Legislative Advocate Center for Families, Children & the Courts Office of Government Affairs MR. HARRY JACOBS, Senior Attorney MR. JOSEPH NGUYEN, Administrative Center for Families, Children & the Courts Coordinator, Center for Families, Children & the Courts LIAISONS JUDICIAL COUNCIL STATE BAR OF california MR.

8 ANTHONY CAPOZZI MS. MARY LAVERY FLYNN Law Offices of Anthony Capozzi Director, Legal Services Outreach Fresno, california State Bar of california PRESIDING JUDGES ADVISORY COMMITTEE CJER GOVERNING COMMITTEE HON. JOHN R. SMILEY HON. CAROLYN B. KUHL Presiding Judge of the Superior Court of california , Judge of the Superior Court of california , County of Ventura County of Los Angeles COURT EXECUTIVES ADVISORY COMMITTEE MS. LISA GALDOS Executive Officer of the Superior Court of california , County of Monterey v Table of Contents 1.

9 Self-Represented Litigants: Who Are They and What Do They Face When They Come to Court? 2. Expanding Access to the Court Without Compromising Neutrality 3. california Law Applicable to a Judge s Ethical Duties in Dealing with Self-Represented Litigants 4. Solutions for Evidentiary Challenges 5. Caseflow Management 6. Courtroom and Hearing Management 7. Settling Cases 8. Special Due Process Considerations 9. Communication Tools 10. Avoiding Unintended Bias 11. Addressing Litigant Mental Health Issues in the Courtroom 12. Judicial Leadership in Access to Justice Appendix Sample Scripts and Checklists vi Acknowledgments This benchguide was developed under grant #SJI-05-N-002 from the State Justice Institute.

10 The viewpoints expressed here do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the State Justice Institute. The california Administrative Office of the Courts gratefully acknowledges the contributions of the following persons to this publication. Ms. Tamara Abrams, Administrative Office of the Courts Hon. William H. Abraskin, Springfield Housing Court, Springfield, Massachusetts Hon. Verna Adams, Superior Court of california , County of Marin Hon. Rebecca Albrecht (Ret.), Maricopa County Superior Court, Phoenix, Arizona Hon.