News Tag: Pro Se
January 17, 2019
Steeped in History But Forward-Looking: Making the Courts Work for Everyone
Courts are, by design, backward-looking institutions. Lawyers and judges rely on case law from bygone decades. Clerks hand out paper forms sprinkled with ancient Latin phrases. The black robes, the gavels, and the rituals are steeped in history and tradition.
By choice, however, courts can also be forward-looking institutions. A
foundational role in American society does […]
December 26, 2018
Community Leadership in Times of Crisis
Over the course of our 70-year history, one of the CBF’s hallmarks has become community leadership in times of crisis and emerging issues for access to justice. The great recession of 2008, and the swelling numbers of homeowners facing foreclosure in the associated housing crisis, was a particularly important example.
Growing numbers of foreclosures had already […]
Tags: CBF 70th Anniversary | Court Help Desks | Courts | Mortgage Foreclosure | Pro Se read more ...December 4, 2018
Guiding the Gatekeepers
Often, when a person goes to court without a lawyer, the first person they interact with will be a court clerk. Clerks often serve as the gatekeepers of the court, playing a pivotal role any time a litigant tries to file a document, request a court order, check in for a hearing, or pay a […]
Tags: CBF 70th Anniversary | Courts | Pro Se | Training read more ...November 30, 2018
It was 6 ½ Years Ago Today…
Granted, that is not as catchy as the Beatles’ lyrics in Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. But in access to justice circles, it was a pretty big deal.
It was June 13, 2012, to be exact, when the Illinois Supreme Court entered the order creating the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Access to Justice, and […]
Tags: Access to Justice Commission | CBF 70th Anniversary | Courts | Pro Se read more ...November 8, 2018
Looking at the Court System through the Eyes of the People
To the say that the legal system looks daunting to someone who is not trained in the law and is often facing a serious legal issue when they arrive at the courthouse would be a vast understatement. And that is even more true at the Daley Center, perhaps the largest and busiest single courthouse in […]
Tags: CBF 70th Anniversary | Courts | Pro Se | Resources read more ...October 4, 2018
From Zero to Two Million and Counting
Back in 1999, when the initial conversations that led to what is now Illinois Legal Aid Online began, the idea that people would have access to and use the Internet to get legal information and resources particularly low-income and disadvantaged people was considered questionable at best. While it is hard to imagine now when virtually […]
Tags: CBF 70th Anniversary | Pro Se | Resources | Technology read more ...September 27, 2018
A Voice in the Court System for People without Lawyers
Pro se litigants may not have an advocate in the courtroom, but they have an advocate in the court system thanks to the efforts of the CBF and the Circuit Court of Cook County, who joined forces in 2009 to establish the Circuit Court Pro Se Advisory Committee.
The Committee works to improve coordination and effectiveness […]
Tags: CBF 70th Anniversary | Courts | Pro Se read more ...September 20, 2018
JusticeCorps Expands to the Criminal Court
Every year in Cook County, over one million criminal cases are filed. They range from low-level misdemeanors to serious felony charges, and everything in between. Most of these cases are heard at the George N. Leighton Criminal Courthouse located at 2650 S. California in Chicago. Victims, family members, probationers, and the criminal defendants themselves churn […]
Tags: Court Help Desks | Courts | JusticeCorps | Pro Se read more ...September 18, 2018
Municipal Court Advice Desk Prepares and Empowers
Evictions. Contract disputes. Auto accidents. Debt collection. While some of these cases may seem small from the outside, they can be very high stakes for a low-income person going to court without an attorney to defend their housing, their financial security, or their business interests. These are the types of cases heard in the First […]
Tags: CBF 70th Anniversary | Court Help Desks | Courts | Pro Se read more ...September 13, 2018
Helping Ensure It’s Substance Over Form in the Courts
Forms go along with the court process like peanut butter goes with jelly. And when it comes to access to justice, well-designed court forms can be a welcoming and helpful resource for people without lawyers, or forms can be a huge barrier when they are complicated and full of legalese.
Prior to 2012, people in Illinois […]
Tags: CBF 70th Anniversary | Courts | Pro Se | Simplification read more ...