Pity the pro se litigant. The citizen trying to defend herself at a child custody hearing or home foreclosure proceeding typically has no clue what to do in civil court. Contrast that with the skilled lawyer for the other party and the overburdened judge. “It’s sort of like the effect a chicken has on a chicken snake,” Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Jess H. Dickinson described at a recent conference on the topic. “It’s not a fair fight. Pro se litigants don’t win. They just don’t.”
Neither does the justice system. In addition to the glaring mismatch of the fight, other problems that pro se cases create include clogged court dockets and overwhelmed staff from the inevitable missteps and delays that occur, and potentially more expense for litigants with attorneys because cases take more time.
