When IRS levied me out of business, lawyers would not take my case because IRS had my money. So, I began to act Pro Se.

Going to Court Pro Se Before you go to court pro se,  say a Prayer, because going to court is scary -- even if you are not pro se! The better you deal with your fear, the better your chances. And, Never Underestimate Inspiration! That said, I believe that several decisions have gone against me because I was pro se, not because of the law or the facts of the case. Case in point, the 10th Circuit spoke of me being "hampered" in my "pro se litigation," as opposed to having a cause of action. What is chilling about this, is that the case the defendants relied upon had been overturned and I had said so in my pleading. Further, the federal district court had listed my cases as if the existence of more than one case by a pro se party was cause to dismiss. Echoing this, in a concern-making way, is the fact that the pro bono lawyer contacted for me by a lawyers for the elderly program here in New Mexico, said that he would not take my case because I did not have money to pay an expert witness, and because I had so many cases. He said that no jury would decide in favor of someone with so many cases, who had not been able to find a lawyer to take them. I replied that I thought an average jury would understand why someone would file cases without a lawyer, given the cost of lawyers. Important: Read the Rules. I used a ruler image along the left edge, instead of Lady Justice image, to emphasize the integral role of rules. There are state rules for district, municipal, magistrate, and state appeals court in one rule book, while "Local" rules for each court are in another. Federal rules govern federal court, but are also the basic rules upon which the state rules have been based. There are bankruptcy rules, maritime rules, all sorts of rules for all sorts of courts. You can find the basic rules on the Internet, as for instance: http://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/ Getting Started -- The Nitty-Gritty: After you have been civilly injured, as opposed to being criminally injured, make up your mind that it's not all right. Next, read the rules. That's essential. And yes, it bears repeating. In the beginning just read the first one or two rules. They deal with how an action is commenced (begun). Don't worry if at first you don't understand them -- read them again. As you go on you will learn things that make the rules clear. Read them again, and notice how much more you understand. (If you don't have a law library where you are, you can find these rules on the web through your state's court site or through Cornell University, http://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/) Okay, so at this point you know you've been injured: maybe someone didn't pay you, maybe someone defrauded you, maybe someone printed something that damaged your reputation; and you've read the rules about the very first things you need to do in order to get "relief." When I started out, I didn't know what things were called. During the first foreclosures, caused by IRS wrongly putting me out of business, I used to say someone "tricked" me, when the legal term would have been "defrauded," or, "I was out of town when they brought the summons and they put it on a door I don't use, so I missed my time to reply," instead of "service was deficient." Learning the correct term is a challenge when you don't know the law. I used to tell the whole long story of how I had been wronged, and the opposing attorney would move to strike on the basis of my pleading not being directly to the point (which the attorney said in legalese) and I'd be out of luck. But not entirely: Because I made a huge effort to follow the rules about the time allowed to do things, I wasn't disqualified from answering - that's really important; and because once I learned something I used it, I was eventually able to file an action for violation of the automatic stay (by this time I was in bankruptcy) against the lawyer who had earlier had my pleading struck. She settled; her insurance paid me a bit, not a lot by any means, but certainly more than if I had ignored how she'd damaged me; and my creditors got the money that her insurance paid (which was excellent). The violation of the automatic stay had nothing to do with having my pleading struck; however it does seem to be the case that if a lawyer does one thing wrong, that lawyer is most likely used to doing things not according to the rules. (Some rules, like that about the automatic stay, require that the offender be ordered to pay compensatory damages.) Now, say you are wondering how I learned enough to file bankruptcy, and not just any bankruptcy, a Chapter 11. The short answer is: I bought a bankruptcy kit from an office supply store. It cost me about $20 in 1997. The kit explained each of the kinds of bankruptcy. I could see that Chapter 11 gave me the most control and that because I had property (which I wanted to protect) I had a good chance of being able to create a Plan whereby I could become financially stable again. Plus, in Chapter 11 you are given quite a long time to get your Plan together. If you aren't in a major time crunch, as I was since my condo was being sold on the court house steps in four days from the date of my kit purchase, you don't need to buy anything because many rule books contain sample pleadings: By filling in the blanks on one of these forms, you can produce an acceptable, customized pleading. It's best to copy type or scan the forms into your computer. But I have simply xeroxed them and filled them in by hand. As you can imagine, the scanned forms filled in by hand look pretty horrid, so I'm not recommending that unless it is an emergency. In 2005, I downloaded the Chapter 11 files from the Bankruptcy Court's web site. I had to cut and paste, literally, to fill in the blanks because the documents were pdf and didn't allow any kind of manipulation, like answering questions. Though my completed forms looked a bit wonky, it worked, which is what is important. Law libraries have a variety of invaluable resources Am.Jur. (American Jurisprudence) (green bindings) is a treatise series that discusses in clear language the legal aspects of almost everything; The Am.Jur. sample pleadings series shows effective language and proper form; Words and Phrases series, illustrates the proper context for words. COA (Causes of Action) - This is a GREAT set because it discusses the most basic thing: Something must be actionable in order for you to sue. That is, there must be a legal wrong. For instance, you can't sue because of death. If a loved one dies of old age, you don't have a cause of action. But if a loved one is hit by a car, or hit by a car driven by a drunk driver, then you have a cause of action, or two. (What is so distressing to me about the situation I am in, where the state district court refuses to accommodate my disability and the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals says, apparently, that since I have been a "pro se litigant" more than once I don't have a cause of action, is that it means there is no judicial system for me, no due process. If I don't hire a lawyer, then apparently I don't have the rights laid out in the Constitution. Which seems to me to destroy the whole concept of due process, converting it into just another commercial enterprise. In 2006, I hired a lawyer and it was the worst lawyer experience yet, costing me $5,000 of the little money I have. I am disappointed with myself for not following my own advice about acting pro se.) I have found the COA series to be clear and very helpful because it explains exactly what you need in your complaint in order to succeed. (Succeed, that is, barring prejudice on the part of the Court.) Federal Practice Digest (My Most Favorite) (navy blue bindings) - What I like about these is that they go through the Code giving cases for each bit. What's so great is that it shows the same thing being said under varied but similar circumstances, then the same thing from a slightly different aspect, and so on, so that you can understand and see how the Code works. In the beginning I couldn't really believe that there were things as totally helpful as the Automatic Stay, so I would copy pages and pages of cases verifying my position, and then read them again and again. When I was pretty much convinced the book meant it, I would copy dozens into my pleading, thinking that if they convinced me, then they would convince the judge. This wasn't altogether successful: The judge (in this case the Honorable Mark McFeeley of the bankruptcy court) didn't need that kind of convincing. But since I did, I credit the Federal Practice Digest with whatever success I had, because this set convinced me that success was there to be had. (Sadly the state court appears not to be convinced, and the Federal District Court appears to favor the state court over me, a lowly self represented litigant, a pro se party.) United States Supreme Court Cases Cases are decided similarly from case to case, based on circumstances and the law, and relying on case law, so it may interest you to know that a state's supreme court's decisions are not binding on U.S. district courts. Equally, different U.S. district courts may have different decisions from one court to the next, based upon different views of the law. When someone appeals from a U.S. district court, believing there should have been a different outcome due to the availability of a different theory, the case goes to a U.S. Court of Appeals in one of the Circuits. My state, New Mexico, is in the 10th Circuit. California is in the 9th. You may remember hearing the 9th Circuit mentioned on the news fairly frequently as they are quite active in taking new views on questions of law. When there is a difference of opinion among the Circuits, the question is taken to the U.S. Supreme Court by way of a Petition for Writ of Certiorari. The U.S. Supreme Court may or may not take the case. If you look through cases, you will see that many note, "Certiorari denied." That means the Court didn't take the case. Once there is significant disagreement among the circuits, the Court usually does take the case in the interest of uniformity. So, the reason I mention the Supreme Court first in discussing case law, is that the cases they have decided are the controlling case law. (Unless of course the court you are in decides to ignore them, as the First Judicial District Court of New Mexico did for me. Pleading with U.S. Supreme Court case law, that was ignored for me. Not entirely ignored, since I asked the Court to strike the Certificate as to the State of the Record, and Judge Michael Vigil instead had the certificate changed under the rule that harmless errors can be corrected. But, he didn't "order" it, he just had it done, so there was nothing for me to appeal.) To look up Supreme Court cases you can use the following link: http://www.usscplus.com/online/ Scroll down a bit to see the search options offered. Other United States Case Law (Only things less than 5 years old are free, and you need to register.) www.lexisnexis.com/lexisone/

Books of case law are needed because you need to say why your case should be decided in your favor, which similar cases will explain. Some things you can skim, some you must retain by means of memory, but more likely a written or xerox copy. If you live in a city where there's a law school, a state supreme court, or a district court, then you have a law library near you that will provide everything you need to get a basic understanding of going to court. How do you begin? To go to court pro se you need to Complain. The form of the complaint differs from court to court, so ask your law librarian for an example. Copy the example, putting in your name as the plaintiff, and the offending person's name as the defendant. Center the word "Complaint" and beneath that tell your story as simply and directly as possible. If you need to supply the summons, find an example to copy. Get your cash together You will need to pay for filing and service (the delivery of the Complaint and Summons). If you don't have much money, you can request and most likely get a reduced filing fee. If you don't have money to pay the sheriffs for service, then ask among your friends for someone to make the deliveries for you. You may not deliver them yourself. With that, you're on your way. A few more Words about Rules The great thing about the rules is that they are provided in the order you will need to use them. And many have VERY helpful annotations: cases you can quote or use as starting points in your research. Sometimes if you use an internet source for the rules, the annotations won't be shown. So if you can, set time aside to go to the law library. Many courts have un-annotated copies of their rules to give to pro se litigants; and many have special, easier directions for pro se litigants. Reading the rules can be a little confusing at first; but once you begin following them to do whatever it is, they become pretty clear. Start setting aside your quarters! If you think there is even the slightest chance you may be going to court, start setting aside your quarters because you will need to make a lot of copies. A LOT: because, highlighting is way easier than making massive notes. What about when you have a Question??? Early on, I used to call lawyers whose yellow page ads said, "Free Consultation." They answered my questions, but I had too much trepidation to call any of them twice. I'm basically a bit of a scaredy cat. So, after I joined Pre-Paid Legal Services, I could stop worrying about unfamiliar things: I just called the 800 number and talked to a lawyer.  I still have Pre-Paid, because it's invaluable to have someone to ask. Now, that doesn't mean Pre-Paid likes pro se litigants. Nor does it mean they are always right. I have had them tell me some things that are entirely wrong. The thing is that in the long run they have been more valuable than if I'd had to wing it. If you would like to join, it's about $26 a month, and that includes an 800 number you can use any time of the day or night that you may have a problem where the police are involved, like on the highway. If I'd had that in 1998, I would have saved myself a lot of pain and suffering. Big Time. But I won't go into it now.

The Essential Ingredient - I had thought that truth and a natural delivery were The essential ingredients, but now, I am beginning to think that reform of the judicial may be absolutely necessary. Still, a few more words on this "ingredient" seem in order:

Going to Court Pro Se

email Karen

A very important aspect of everything in life -- The essential ingredient is Fresh and Natural -- What is fresh and natural is best for us. The very same ingredient is beneficial in court. If you are fresh and natural, that is, if you tell your story, as briefly as possible, but in your own words, and truthfully, it will make a great impression. Truth is a strong ally.