7.1 Services for Self-Represented Litigants
All judges, and especially those with administrative responsibilities, should encourage, support, and initiate efforts in the courts to improve services for self-represented litigants.
Commentary
The excellence of our courts depends not only on what takes place in individual courtrooms, but also on the infrastructure that supports the fair and efficient adjudication of cases. Thus, the Code of Judicial Conduct provides not only that judges must decide their cases competently and diligently, but also that they must be mindful of administrative imperatives. See S.J.C. Rule 3:09, Code of Judicial Conduct, Canon 2, Rule 2.5 (B) (2016) (“A judge shall cooperate with other judges and court officials in the administration of court business”); id., comment 2 (“A judge should seek the necessary resources to discharge all adjudicative and administrative responsibilities”).
The prevalence of self-representation has created many challenges for litigants and the courts. It is therefore essential that judges support efforts to ensure that self-represented litigants are able to navigate the court system effectively and have their cases fairly heard and decided.
Judges with administrative responsibilities can play an especially important role in improving access to justice for the self-represented by taking steps that facilitate the ability of judges under their authority to follow these Guidelines and adopt best practices in handling cases involving self-represented litigants.
Judges can also promote access to justice for the self-represented by supporting and improving existing self-help services, such as Court Service Centers, Lawyer for the Day programs, interpreter services, courthouse navigation aids, and online guidance. In addition, judges can learn about and support other innovations that are commonly used with success in other jurisdictions, such as the development of simplified uniform forms and the use of guided interview and document assembly programs that make it easier for self-represented litigants to complete and file court papers.
7.2 Activities
Judges are encouraged, consistent with the Code of Judicial Conduct, to engage in activities to improve access to justice for self-represented litigants and other court users. Such activities might include:
- attending, developing, or speaking at educational programs concerning best practices for cases involving self-represented litigants;
- serving on court committees tasked with improving services for those who come to court without lawyers;
- encouraging lawyers to increase access to legal services for those who cannot afford them by providing pro bono or reduced fee services, participating in court-based Lawyer for the Day and conciliation programs, or, in appropriate cases, providing clients with limited assistance representation (LAR).
Commentary
“Judges are uniquely qualified to engage in extrajudicial activities that concern the law, the legal system, and the administration of justice.” S.J.C. Rule 3:09, Code of Judicial Conduct, Canon 3, Rule 3 comment 1 (2016). For that reason, under the Code of Judicial Conduct, “[a] judge is encouraged to participate in activities that . . . promote access to justice for all,” and “to initiate and participate in appropriate community outreach activities for the purpose of promoting public understanding of and confidence in the administration of justice.” Id., Canon 1, Rule 1.2 comments 4 & 6. These provisions are consistent with the national consensus that the judiciary must take a leading role in improving access to justice, as reflected in Resolution 5, Reaffirming the Commitment to Meaningful Access to Justice for All, adopted by the Conference of Chief Justices and Conference of State Court Administrators in 2015, which urged members to provide leadership in achieving the aspirational goal of 100 percent access to effective assistance for essential civil legal needs.
Within the courts, judges can and should promote access to justice by working with their colleagues to develop and support services and practices that make it easier for self-represented litigants to obtain assistance, navigate the litigation process. and have their cases fairly heard. See commentary to Guideline 7.1, supra.
Within the wider community, judges may be involved in activities that promote access to justice, subject to the requirements of S.J.C. Rule 3:09, Code of Judicial Conduct, Canon 3, Rules 3.1 & 3.7 (2016). A specific example identified in the Code is that judges “may promote broader access to justice by encouraging lawyers to provide pro bono publico or reduced fee legal services, if in doing so the judge does not employ coercion or abuse the prestige of judicial office. Such encouragement may take many forms, including providing lists of available programs, training lawyers to do pro bono publico legal work, and participating in events recognizing lawyers who have done pro bono publico work.” Id., Rule 3.7 comment 6.