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PLEDGE OF SOLIDARITY FOR PRO SE LITIGANT RIGHTS! |
622 Signatures |
Published by Joseph L. Delgado (P.U.L.S.E.) on Apr 05, 2007
Category: Law Reform
Region: United States of America
Target: State & Federal Courts and State Legislatures - U.S.A.
Background (Preamble):
As someone who has been assisting Self Litigants since 1989, I am a staunch supporter of the RIGHT TO SELF-REPRESENTATION.
The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution has been interpreted to provide EVERY AMERICAN with the CONSTITUTIONAL right to self-representation, if they so choose. That privilege, like all other constitutional rights, should be enjoyed without fear of legal system harassment or judicial prejudice. Furthermore, no law, regulation, or policy should exist to abridge or surreptitiously extinguish that right.
Pro Se Litigants have no less of a right to EFFECTIVE due process under the federal and state constitutions as those individuals who choose to utilize an attorney for their litigation needs. In fact, NOWHERE in the federal Constitution does it specify that the hiring of a lawyer is a prerequisite to exercising one's due process rights. Democracy dictates that we have the right to freely choose between self-representation and hiring a lawyer to handle our legal matters without suffering humiliation, prejudice or penalization. After all, it is the parties to the litigation that ultimately have to deal with the consequences of the case's outcome, and not the judge or the lawyers involved in the matter.
Contrary to the view of certain judges and lawyers, those who opt to litigate their own legal matters without an attorney are NOT second-class citizens deserving of contempt and prejudice. Instead, they are BRAVE AMERICANS with an inalienable right to have their legal causes adjudicated objectively and justly -- with or without a lawyer. Self-representation can be a difficult, time-consuming, and often frightening experience, especially for those burdened by demanding work schedules, family responsibilities, and other obligations of day-to-day living. In my view, those who engage in the difficult task of self-litigation should be REVERED for their COURAGE and DEDICATION, not scorned.
In support of the foregoing ideals, I founded a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization called PEOPLE UNITED FOR LEGAL SYSTEM EQUALITY (P.U.L.S.E.). PULSE’s mission is to preserve the right to self-representation, protest undue prejudice and abuse against self-litigants, and advocate for fair and meaningful reforms that will foster equitable treatment for the self-represented. PULSE seeks to accomplish this agenda through grassroots mobilization, community awareness and education, policy intervention, public protests, and by providing financial support and legal assistance to certain "high impact" cases which offer appellate opportunities for protecting and expanding the right to self-litigation.
For PULSE to be effective, an active network of like-minded, vocal, financially-generous, and politically-expressive supporters and activists from every state in the country must be organized. To that end, I submit the following PLEDGE OF SOLIDARITY for your consideration. I hope you will sign it, and pray that you distribute it to all of your friends, family members and other contacts who genuinely support the ideals of FAIRNESS and JUSTICE regarding the legal process.
PLEASE HELP US ORGANIZE AND MOBILIZE TO TAKE BACK OUR COURTS! We need to get rid of those particular lawyers, judges and court administrators who, in the interest of protecting the highly profitable LEGAL SYSTEM MONOPOLY, subject self-litigants to a hostile and often abusive litigation atmosphere calculated to demoralize self-representation and force people to become DEPENDENT on lawyers to attain justice from the legal system.
PLEASE .... STAND UP AND BE COUNTED by signing the Pledge of Solidarity! The more signatures collected, the more credibility the courts, legislatures, and the media will attribute to PULSE, our efforts to expose the injustices suffered by Pro Se Litigant victims, and our demands for genuine reforms.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution has been interpreted to provide EVERY AMERICAN with the CONSTITUTIONAL right to self-representation, if they so choose. That privilege, like all other constitutional rights, should be enjoyed without fear of legal system harassment or judicial prejudice. Furthermore, no law, regulation, or policy should exist to abridge or surreptitiously extinguish that right.
Pro Se Litigants have no less of a right to EFFECTIVE due process under the federal and state constitutions as those individuals who choose to utilize an attorney for their litigation needs. In fact, NOWHERE in the federal Constitution does it specify that the hiring of a lawyer is a prerequisite to exercising one's due process rights. Democracy dictates that we have the right to freely choose between self-representation and hiring a lawyer to handle our legal matters without suffering humiliation, prejudice or penalization. After all, it is the parties to the litigation that ultimately have to deal with the consequences of the case's outcome, and not the judge or the lawyers involved in the matter.
Contrary to the view of certain judges and lawyers, those who opt to litigate their own legal matters without an attorney are NOT second-class citizens deserving of contempt and prejudice. Instead, they are BRAVE AMERICANS with an inalienable right to have their legal causes adjudicated objectively and justly -- with or without a lawyer. Self-representation can be a difficult, time-consuming, and often frightening experience, especially for those burdened by demanding work schedules, family responsibilities, and other obligations of day-to-day living. In my view, those who engage in the difficult task of self-litigation should be REVERED for their COURAGE and DEDICATION, not scorned.
In support of the foregoing ideals, I founded a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization called PEOPLE UNITED FOR LEGAL SYSTEM EQUALITY (P.U.L.S.E.). PULSE’s mission is to preserve the right to self-representation, protest undue prejudice and abuse against self-litigants, and advocate for fair and meaningful reforms that will foster equitable treatment for the self-represented. PULSE seeks to accomplish this agenda through grassroots mobilization, community awareness and education, policy intervention, public protests, and by providing financial support and legal assistance to certain "high impact" cases which offer appellate opportunities for protecting and expanding the right to self-litigation.
For PULSE to be effective, an active network of like-minded, vocal, financially-generous, and politically-expressive supporters and activists from every state in the country must be organized. To that end, I submit the following PLEDGE OF SOLIDARITY for your consideration. I hope you will sign it, and pray that you distribute it to all of your friends, family members and other contacts who genuinely support the ideals of FAIRNESS and JUSTICE regarding the legal process.
PLEASE HELP US ORGANIZE AND MOBILIZE TO TAKE BACK OUR COURTS! We need to get rid of those particular lawyers, judges and court administrators who, in the interest of protecting the highly profitable LEGAL SYSTEM MONOPOLY, subject self-litigants to a hostile and often abusive litigation atmosphere calculated to demoralize self-representation and force people to become DEPENDENT on lawyers to attain justice from the legal system.
PLEASE .... STAND UP AND BE COUNTED by signing the Pledge of Solidarity! The more signatures collected, the more credibility the courts, legislatures, and the media will attribute to PULSE, our efforts to expose the injustices suffered by Pro Se Litigant victims, and our demands for genuine reforms.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
Petition:
In support of PEOPLE UNITED FOR LEGAL SYSTEM EQUALITY (P.U.L.S.E.) and its mission to protect the right of ALL AMERICANS to self-representation in state and federal courts without penalty, prejudice or abuse, the undersigned hereby state the following:
I BELIEVE every citizen has a constitutional right to self-representation in any legal proceeding, if they so choose, and I BELIEVE the judiciary has a duty to honor, protect and meaningfully accommodate that right.
I BELIEVE that since the right to self-representation is constitutionally protected, the choice to utilize non-lawyer resources and alternatives to aid the self-litigant is equally protected as an expression of that right and, therefore, should not be criminalized, outlawed or otherwise discouraged by the courts or the government.
I BELIEVE that anyone who chooses to exercise the right of self-representation should be able to do so free of harassment, humiliation, intimidation, retribution or bias from any judge, attorney, or court personnel.
I BELIEVE the courts are public institutions dedicated to the just, equitable and affordable adjudication of legal claims, and not a venue to service the professional and commercial interests of lawyers or those associations and agencies which advocate on behalf of the attorney profession.
I SUPPORT revision of all “Unauthorized Practice of Law” statutes and regulations such that service-providers and producers of helpful and cost-effective non-lawyer services, products and resources are not discouraged or intimidated from assisting Pro Se Litigants.
I BELIEVE that the judiciary has a legal and moral obligation to make the courts more user-friendly, hospitable, accountable, and reasonably accommodating to citizens exercising their right to self-representation.
I OPPOSE any rule, regulation, statute, case law or policy which forces litigants to hire lawyers, obstruct or prevent the right to self-representation, and/or discourages the utilization of helpful and cost-effective non-lawyer services, tools and resources that exist to aid them in their self-representation efforts.
I SUPPORT reforms that promote fair and equitable treatment of Pro Se Litigants; encourage the use of non-lawyer services, tools and resources; and abolish policies and practices that grant lawyers special treatment and preferences.
I SUPPORT the development and obligatory attendance of annual “sensitivity training” sessions for all judges, lawyers and court personnel to expose them to the needs and interests of the self-litigant.
I SUPPORT reforms that permit court personnel to provide Pro Se Litigants with the same information, guidance and assistance that they provide to lawyers and their staff, including the dispensing of procedural information.
I OPPOSE any case law or judicial policy which punitively obligates Pro Se Litigants to “think, speak and act” like attorneys. Although Pro Se Litigants typically lack the education, training and experience attributed to lawyers have, I BELIEVE they are still entitled to a fair and equitable adjudication of their legal claims as a matter of the constitutionally protected right to due process.
I BELIEVE every citizen has a constitutional right to self-representation in any legal proceeding, if they so choose, and I BELIEVE the judiciary has a duty to honor, protect and meaningfully accommodate that right.
I BELIEVE that since the right to self-representation is constitutionally protected, the choice to utilize non-lawyer resources and alternatives to aid the self-litigant is equally protected as an expression of that right and, therefore, should not be criminalized, outlawed or otherwise discouraged by the courts or the government.
I BELIEVE that anyone who chooses to exercise the right of self-representation should be able to do so free of harassment, humiliation, intimidation, retribution or bias from any judge, attorney, or court personnel.
I BELIEVE the courts are public institutions dedicated to the just, equitable and affordable adjudication of legal claims, and not a venue to service the professional and commercial interests of lawyers or those associations and agencies which advocate on behalf of the attorney profession.
I SUPPORT revision of all “Unauthorized Practice of Law” statutes and regulations such that service-providers and producers of helpful and cost-effective non-lawyer services, products and resources are not discouraged or intimidated from assisting Pro Se Litigants.
I BELIEVE that the judiciary has a legal and moral obligation to make the courts more user-friendly, hospitable, accountable, and reasonably accommodating to citizens exercising their right to self-representation.
I OPPOSE any rule, regulation, statute, case law or policy which forces litigants to hire lawyers, obstruct or prevent the right to self-representation, and/or discourages the utilization of helpful and cost-effective non-lawyer services, tools and resources that exist to aid them in their self-representation efforts.
I SUPPORT reforms that promote fair and equitable treatment of Pro Se Litigants; encourage the use of non-lawyer services, tools and resources; and abolish policies and practices that grant lawyers special treatment and preferences.
I SUPPORT the development and obligatory attendance of annual “sensitivity training” sessions for all judges, lawyers and court personnel to expose them to the needs and interests of the self-litigant.
I SUPPORT reforms that permit court personnel to provide Pro Se Litigants with the same information, guidance and assistance that they provide to lawyers and their staff, including the dispensing of procedural information.
I OPPOSE any case law or judicial policy which punitively obligates Pro Se Litigants to “think, speak and act” like attorneys. Although Pro Se Litigants typically lack the education, training and experience attributed to lawyers have, I BELIEVE they are still entitled to a fair and equitable adjudication of their legal claims as a matter of the constitutionally protected right to due process.
The PLEDGE OF SOLIDARITY FOR PRO SE LITIGANT RIGHTS! petition to State & Federal Courts and State Legislatures - U.S.A. was written by Joseph L. Delgado (P.U.L.S.E.) and is hosted free of charge at GoPetition. Contact author here.
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