The Pro Se Litigant: Self-Representation in Consequential   Civil Cases
{'Code': '04050200', 'Directorate': {'Abbreviation': 'SBE', 'LongName': 'Direct For Social, Behav & Economic Scie'}, 'Division': {'Abbreviation': 'SES', 'LongName': 'Divn Of Social and Economic Sciences'}}
{'SignBlockName': 'Lisa Martin', 'PO_EMAI': None, 'PO_PHON': None}
The contemporary American legal system is predicated on the                expertise of professionally trained lawyers.  Despite the fact                  that modern society is highly professionalized, it is noteworthy                that some who seek access to the court system eschew the services               of lawyers.  These pro se litigants--laypersons who present their               own case in an increasingly technical and procedurally complex                  legal system--are an anomaly in the American court.  On the one                 hand, the pro se litigant symbolizes the democratic value of lay                access to the court system.  On the other hand, in the twentieth                century, the American judicial system has become increasingly                   complex and technical in character, making it difficult for the                 untrained amateur to represent effectively his or her legal                     interests.  Yet, while there is growing literature on courts,                   dispute processing, and litigation, scientific study of the pro                 se litigant has been quite neglected in the existing literature                 on courts, dispute processing, and litigation.                                       Drs. Emerson and McCoin are undertaking a study to examine                 litigants who represent themselves in consequential middle range                cases where parties are normally represented by attorneys.  Using               data from daily and weekly court dockets of cases filed in the                  California Superior Court, Los Angeles County, they will examine                aggregate patterns in the types of civil cases that are filed and               the outcomes received by pro se litigants.  Central to the design               is in-depth study of pro se cases over time based on a sample of                approximately twelve cases identified as noteworthy by judges                   from the Superior Courts of Southern California.  With this                     sample of cases, systematic observations will be conducted on all               proceedings and hearings, and interviews are planned with judges,               other court personnel, lawyers, and litigants.  The "noteworthy"                cases will be compared to an observational sample of "routine"                  cases.  This extended case method should permit (a) identifying                 the factors that lead persons to represent themselves in civil                  actions, (b) assessing how this mode of representation affects                  the functioning of regulars and insiders in the court system, and               (c) analyzing the process of how litigants represent themselves                 in a highly technical legal system.                                                  This research, focusing on an infrequently encountered but                 theoretically significant category of litigants, will fill a gap                in research on dispute processing.  The analysis of issues such                 as cost-benefit models of litigation, use and avoidance of                      lawyers, the dynamics of cultural and organizational outsiders,                 how legal actors deal with unequal combatants, and the role of                  lawyers in the legal system and in courthouse life has been based               on a highly professionalized model.  This study should add to our               understanding of these issues when those who mobilize the law are               untrained in formal procedure and not privy to the informal                     understandings and relationships within courts.
[{'FirstName': 'Susan', 'LastName': 'McCoin', 'PI_MID_INIT': 'L', 'PI_SUFX_NAME': None, 'PI_FULL_NAME': 'Susan L McCoin', 'EmailAddress': None, 'NSF_ID': '000378399', 'StartDate': '08/15/1988', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Co-Principal Investigator'}, {'FirstName': 'Robert', 'LastName': 'Emerson', 'PI_MID_INIT': 'M', 'PI_SUFX_NAME': None, 'PI_FULL_NAME': 'Robert M Emerson', 'EmailAddress': 'remerson@soc.ucla.edu', 'NSF_ID': '000112092', 'StartDate': '08/15/1988', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Principal Investigator'}]
{'Name': 'University of California-Los Angeles', 'CityName': 'LOS ANGELES', 'ZipCode': '900244200', 'PhoneNumber': '3107940102', 'StreetAddress': '10889 WILSHIRE BLVD STE 700', 'StreetAddress2': None, 'CountryName': 'United States', 'StateName': 'California', 'StateCode': 'CA', 'CONGRESSDISTRICT': '36', 'CONGRESS_DISTRICT_ORG': 'CA36', 'ORG_UEI_NUM': 'RN64EPNH8JC6', 'ORG_LGL_BUS_NAME': 'UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES', 'ORG_PRNT_UEI_NUM': None}
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[{'Code': '1372', 'Text': 'LSS-Law And Social Sciences'}, {'Code': '9120', 'Text': 'CROSS-DIRECTORATE PROGRAMS'}]
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