PLEDGE OF SOLIDARITY FOR THE RIGHTS OF SELF-REPRESENTED LITIGANTS!

WE, THE UNDERSIGNED ... in support of PEOPLE UNITED FOR LEGAL SYSTEM EQUALITY and its mission to protect the right of ALL AMERICANS to self-representation in state and federal courts without penalty, prejudice, or abuse .... hereby state the following:

WE BELIEVE every citizen has a constitutional right to self-representation in any legal proceeding, if he or she so chooses, and WE BELIEVE the judiciary has a constitutional duty to honor, protect, and meaningfully accommodate that right.

WE BELIEVE that it is the litigants accessing the legal system, and not the judges, lawyers, or court personnel, who solely endure the consequences, good or bad, that result from the adjudication of their legal claims. Therefore, WE BELIEVE that it should only be the litigants themselves who should chose whether to act as self-represented litigants or secure attorney representation and neither choice shall suffer bias, prejudice, or penalty.

WE BELIEVE that since the right to self-representation is constitutionally protected, the choice to utilize non-attorney tools, products, resources, and service providers to aid the self-litigant are equally protected as an expression of that right. Therefore, any offering of such resources to Self-Represented Litigants should not be criminalized, outlawed, or otherwise discouraged by the courts or the government.

WE 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.

WE BELIEVE that the courts are public, taxpayer-financed institutions dedicated to the just, equitable, and affordable adjudication of legal claims, and not a venue that prioritizes the professional and commercial interests of lawyers over the right of the public to access the courts without prejudice or bias.

WE SUPPORT the revision of “Unauthorized Practice of Law” statutes and regulations such that non-attorney tools, products, resources, and service providers are not discouraged or intimidated from assisting Self-Represented Litigants.

WE BELIEVE that the “Unauthorized Practice of Law” statutes and regulations should be revised so that they are restricted to regulating the conduct, standards, and practices of attorneys, law firms, and the paralegals, legal assistants, and legal secretaries who are in their employ.

WE 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.

WE OPPOSE any rule, regulation, statute, appellate opinion, or governing policy which compels litigants to hire lawyers, obstruct, or prevent the right to self-representation, and/or discourages the utilization of non-attorney tools, products, resources, and service providers which exist to aid citizens in their self-representation efforts.

WE SUPPORT reforms that promote fair and equitable treatment of Self-Represented Litigants, and seek the abolishment of policies and practices that grant lawyers special benefits or preferential treatment.

WE SUPPORT reforms that authorize court personnel to provide Self-Represented Litigants with the same information, guidance, and assistance that they readily provide to attorneys and their staff, including the dispensing of procedural information.

WE OPPOSE any case law or judicial policy which punitively obligates Self-Represented Litigants to “think, speak and act” like attorneys and to handle their cases with the same speed and competence as a lawyer. Although Self-Represented Litigants may lack the education, training, and experience attributed to lawyers, WE BELIEVE that, in accordance with the constitutionally protected right to due process, they are still entitled to a fair and equitable adjudication of their legal claims.