Technology and the Removal of
Access Barriers for Pro Se Litigants

By: Ilene Mitchell ^*

As we approach the beginning of the 21st century, astonishingly rapid changes in technology offer the opportunity for courts to better serve their communities while improving efficiency in their own operations. New technologies will allow for a rethinking of the role of courts. Courts can become more accessible to pro se litigants. These litigants will no longer view the processes of the court as replete with barriers to access; they will see a system that provides them with fair access to the exercise of their legal rights.

The last decade has seen a dramatic increase in the number of pro se litigants in all levels of the court system. The increase is especially large in the trial courts that hear family law cases. Increased use of technology offers a way of providing more information and assistance to these litigants and increasing their access to the court.

What barriers can technology remove?

Geographiclphysicalitemporal barriers. Internet technology can provide the public with access to the court from off-site locations. This access can be used to obtain information and to file documents. The possibilities are enormous, because the Internet can allow access to anyone, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. For litigants with physical disabilities, for litigants in rural areas, and for litigants who work during the hours the clerk's office is open, information and filing on the Internetcan give them access they might otherwise be denied. Many courts already have established Web sites with downloadable forms. If these are expanded and integrated with electronic filing, litigants could commence their cases without having to physically come into court.

Once courts make information and filing available through the Internet, representatives from social service agencies, libraries, community centers, and other public agencies could be trained to provide this information to individuals who come to them for help. This would be beneficial to both the pro se litigant and the court. The litigant could complete the initial steps of filing her case at a convenient location, saving a special trip to the court. The court would benefit from having fewer litigants come in and require the assistance of the court staff.

The Internet currently is not accessible to every litigant, but with rapid changes in the technologies that provide access and changes in the delivery of these technologies, courts can assume that at some point in the future most pro se litigants will have access to the Internet.

Language barriers.There are dozens of languages spoken in the United States. Many courts have interpreters available for hearings and trials, but courts do not necessarily provide information in all of the principal languages spoken in their communities. Advances in translation software and telephone systems that provide simultaneous translation will allow courts to provide information to the public in languages other than English.

Literacy barriers. Even when forms and instructions are in litigants' native languages, litigants still may have difficulty completing them.  Many courts now have programs in which court staff help pro se litigants complete forms. Through the use of Internet-based forms, pro se litigants could help themselves by using on-line information assistance. A pilot program run by the Fund for the City of New York uses Internet-based terminals that provide audio and video help to the user. The forms are set up to be filled out on a touch screen, so the litigant does not have to be familiar with a keyboard. Many pro se litigants will still require personal assistance, but the use of technology will allow staff resources to be used for those who need them most.

Financial barriers to legal representation. Many pro se litigants are low-income people who have been unable to obtain legal representation from legal services programs or pro bono attorneys. These programs do not receive enough funding to meet the demand for legal services among low-income citizens. Many of these programs have begun to offer limited advice services, primarily through hotlines. The courts and these programs could work together to increase the availability of advice. Courts could provide information, while the legal services programs provide advice. Each could refer to the other. This cooperation could result in increasing the time available for the legal services programs to give advice, thereby providing some attorney resources, however minimal, to those who need it.

Technology could make it easier for courts and programs for low income pro se litigants to work together. Many legal services programs and volunteer attorney programs offer uncontested divorce classes for pro se litigants. The signup for these classes could be on a Web site accessible to both legal services and court staff. After agreed-upon screening, the court staff could register and refer pro se litigants to class.  The litigant benefits from not having to go from place to place to get information, and the court benefits from the litigant's attendance at the class.

Our courts are meant to serve the public. The stresses of increased numbers of pro se litigants have left marry courts unable to serve the  public as well as they would like to.  While technology is not the entire answer to improving access to courts for  pro se litigants, it is an important part of the answer.  Increased use of technology will contribute to an opening up of the resources of our courts.  Increased use of technology can lead to increased cooperation between the courts and other agencies and organizations that assist pro se litigants. Overall, increased use of technology can benefit both pro se litigants and the courts they use.

*Ilene Mitchell works for the Community Outreach Program of the Suffolk County Probate and Family Court in Boston and is a doctoral candidate in the Law, Policy, and Society Program at Northeastern University. She won a scholarship to attend CTC6 based on this article. She may be reached by e-mail at imitchel@lynx.neu.edu.