On February 6, 1995, the University of Maryland and the
University of Baltimore Schools of Law, with financial support
from the Maryland Court of Appeals, inaugurated an innovative
project to provide law student assistance to pro se
litigants in four Maryland jurisdictions: Baltimore City, and
Baltimore, Montgomery, and Anne Arundel Counties.
The number of family and domestic filings in the Circuit Court of
Maryland has increased steadily and now constitutes fifty percent
of all cases filings. The State-Wide Advisory Council on Family
Legal Needs of Low Income Persons completed a comprehensive study
entitled, "Increasing Access to Justice for Maryland's
Families." The Committee's research indicated that one of
the major problems low income individuals face is lack of access
to information about domestic legal rights and remedies. A low
income client may identify an organization that can provide
information, such as the court clerk's office or a community
organization, but the subsequent course of events is very
uncertain. Resources often cannot provide legal information and
advice because of lack of training or knowledge, because of legal
mandates, or because of limited staff availability.
A related problem for low income clients is lack of access to legal representation. Other studies have confirmed the wide-spread nature of this problem. The ABA report: Civil Justice: An Agenda of the 1990s" indicate that even though per capita income increased in the 1980s, the cost of basic needs spiraled leaving increased numbers of moderate income and poor people unable to afford personal legal services. It is well documented that only a small percentage of the family law needs of low and moderate income persons are met.
This project is designed to address the need for providing service to pro se litigants in domestic cases in the Maryland court system by providing law student assistance to assist pro se litigants to prepare, file, and represent themselves in domestic cases in circuit court. An evaluation of this project has been completed and is available for distribution.
Since February 6, 1995, University of Maryland clinical law
students have been providing assistance to pro se
litigants in Anne Arundel, Montgomery Counties, and the City of
Baltimore. By June 30, 1996,over 4,400 individuals will
have been served by the project in these two counties and the
City of Baltimore.
A description of
the Self-Service Center in Maricopa County, Arizona
Pro
Se State Justice Institute Grant to the Florida Office of the
State Courts Administrator