Statewide Conference on Unrepresented Litigants : responding to the challenge : a conference

308 Pages·2001·15.2 MB·English

by  Massachusetts. Judicial Institute

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THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF THE TRIAL COURT
JudicialInstitute
Statewide Conference
^'^o
on
Unrepresented Litigants
Responding to the Challenge
(AconferencepresentedbytiieMassachusettsJudicialBranch
throughthe generous supportofthe StateJusticeInstitute)
Stall'
SJI
[ii-ililliit:
March 15 and 16, 2001
Hogan Conference Center
College ofthe Holy Cross
Worcester, Massachusetts
information aboutthis and othereducational programs offered bytheJudicialInstitute, please contact
Marilyn J. Wellington, Esq., DirectorofJudicial Education, Edward W. Brooke Courthouse,
Sixth Floor, 24New Chardon Street, Boston, MA 02114
[phone]
Lest the citizenry lose faith in the
substance of the system and the procedures
we we
use to administer can afford to
it, ill
confront them with a government dominated
by forms and mysterious rituals and then tell
them they lose because they did not know
how to play the game or should not have
taken us at our word.
Moore v. Price, 914 S.W.2d 318, 323 (Ark.
1996), Mayifield, J., dissenting
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
MISSION STATEMENT
1
PRO SE COMMITTEE 3
ACKNOWLEDGE
5
AGENDA
7
LOCAL ANDNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES 13
ANational OverviewofCourtPlanningToMeetthe ChallengeofPro SeLitigation 15
Results ofaNational Survey ofPro SeAssistance Programs: A PreliminaryReport 19
MeetingtheChallenge ofPro Se Litigation 29
StateActionPlan forMassachusetts 37
Probate and FamilyCourtDepartmentAnnualReport Statistics Fiscal YearEnding2000 41
THEPRIVATEBARPERSPECTIVE 47
General Remarks: EdwardP. Ryan, Jr., PresidentMassachusetts BarAssociation 49
CommentsonPro SeReport: EdwardP. Ryan, Jr., PresidentMassachusettsBarAssociation 57
MBA EthicsOpinionNO. 98-1 75
BostonBarAssociation:
Reporton Pro SeLitigation-Executive Summary 77
ProposedProtocol forJudicial Officers 81
LEGAL ADVICEv. INFORMATION 83
TheDistinctionBetweenLegal InformationandLegalAdvice: Developments Since 1995 85
Supreme Judicial CourtAdvisoryCommittee on EthicalOpinions ForClerksofthe Court 101
Boston BarAssociation Sample StaffGuidelines 107
State SpecificMaterials:
NewMexico 109
VenturaCounty,California Ill
New Jersey 114
Florida 115
Iowa 121
Utah 153
Michigan 155
TECHNOLOGYAND INFORMATION SYSTEMS 171
TheInternet-BasedDomesticViolence CourtPreparationProject 173
The Information Highway: Let'sNotMissthe Bus 181
ThePotential andIntegrationofTechnology intoaCollaborative Self-Help Agenda 203
THEROLE OFADR 229
WorkingwithProSeLitigants: The MinnesotaExperience 23
Communityproramsbroaden accesstodisputeresolution 241
EXISTING MASSACHUSETTS PROGRAMS 245
Probate andFamilyCourtPrograms 247
HousingCourtPrograms 259
MODEL OUT-OF-STATE PROGRAMS 261
DATE DUE
ffASS rCrn crjio .:>ro ckjmi
Statewide Conference on
Unrepresented Litigants
THIS MAY BE KEPT
7 DAYS ONLY
IT CANNOT BE RENEWED OR TRANSFERRED
COMMONWEALTHOfMASSACHUSETTS
HAMPSHIRE LAW LIBRARY
• ' COURTHOUSE - 99 MAIN STREEl „,
NORTHAMPlON. MASS. 01060
Statewide Conference on Unrepresented Litigants
Planning Committee
Mission Statement
The goal of the planning committee is to produce a conference that will
broaden awareness of the challenges created by the increasing number of
civil pro se litigants in the Massachusetts court system. By developing
consensus and gaining commitment from leaders of the bar and the
judiciary we strive to develop concrete steps toward addressing the
challenge of assuring meaningful access to justice for xmrepresented
litigants.
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Statewide Conference on Pro Se Litigants
Planning Committee
Hon. Barbara A. Dortch-Okara
ChiefJusticeforAdministration andManagement
Hon. Elaine M. Moriarty, Chair
FirstJustice, Suffolk CountyProbate andFamily Court
Hon. R. PeterAnderson
FirstJustice, Brighton District Court
Hon. Dina E. Fein
AssociateJustice, Housing Court Western Division
Hon. Judith Fabricant
AssociateJustice, Superior Court
Hon. Robert E. Terry
FirstJustice, Barnstable CountyProbate andFamily Court
Ashley Ahearn
Clerk, Appeals Court
Christine Burak
Attorney, SupremeJudicial Court
Harvey Chopp
CourtAdministrator, Housing CourtDepartment
Tonomey Coleman
Secretary, Massachusetts BlackLawyersAssociation
Carol DiMento
President-elect, Massachusetts BarAssociation
Brian J. Kearney
Assistant ClerkMagistrate, Boston Municipal Court CivilDivision
Thomas Moriarty
Register ofProbate, Hampden CountyProbate andFamily Court
Edward Notis-McConarty
Hemenway & Barnes
Susan E. Neff
Conference Consultant
Francis T. Talty
Massachusetts BarAssociation
Jayne Tyrrell
Director, lOLTA Committee
Marilyn J. Wellington
Director, JudicialEducation Massachusetts Trial Court
Donald Whitney
ClerkMagistrate, Hampden CountyJuvenile Court
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STATEWIDE CONFERENCE ON UNREPRESENTED LITIGANTS
Acknowledgments
We
gratefully acknowledge the State Justice Institute for providing grant
funding which has made this conference areality.
We
also acknowledge the support and encouragement ofChiefJustice
Margaret H. Marshall ofthe Supreme Judicial Court, and ChiefJustice for Administration and
Management BarbaraA. Dortch-Okara and the Departmental ChiefJustices without whose
efforts this conference would nothave beenpossible.
Our appreciation is extended to the members ofthe conference planning
committee, and to Marilyn Wellington, Director, Nufynna Callahan-Thorpe, Denise March and
the staffofthe Massachusetts Judicial Institute for their active participation in the planning and
development ofthe conference; to the Massachusetts State Team to the National Conference on
Pro Se Litigation who prepared the grant proposal: Hon. Elaine M. Moriarty, First Justice,
Suffolk Probate and Family Court, Sandra A. Caggiano Esq., First Assistant Clerk Magistrate,
East Boston District Court; Harvey J. Chopp, Esq., CourtAdministrator, Housing Court
Department and Edward Notis-McConarty Esq., Hemenway and Barnes. Acknowledgment is
also extended to Jayne B. Tyrrell Esq., Director, lOLTA for assistance in developing the grant
proposal.
We thank all our outstanding faculty and those who submitted written
materials for sharing their experiences, ideas and recommendations.
Acknowledgment is also extended to SusanNeff, Conference
Consultant, and Suzanne Brown, Head Administrative Assistant to the First Justice, Suffolk
Probate and Family Court for their extensive assistance inplanning the conference and to David
Schwartz, Pro Se Coordinator forthe Probate and Family Court for his assistance inpreparing
program materials.
Special thanks are extended to the Boston Bar Association for
provision ofcopies ofthe Boston BarAssociation TaskForce on UnrepresentedLitigants:
ReportonPro Se Litigation.
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