At what point do we say – enough? I often talk to legal document preparers throughout Florida and hear all manner of stories about their customers' difficulties accomplishing legal tasks through our court system. We use the term - legal access – and there are many facets and meanings to that term. Besides talking to many legal document preparers around the state, I also regularly talk to Florida pro se litigants.
Legal access can literally mean being able to enter and get around inside a courthouse. Sharon Hoffmeyer, a former member of the Florida Association of Legal Document Preparers, appeared on Jacksonville's Channel 4 News with camera man in tow, to show just how difficult legal access can be for someone with disabilities. For Jacksonville politicians, the entire story of the 350 million dollar Duval County Courthouse is a sore point – the fact that it went so far over budget, the fact that the transition into the new building was chaotic, and add the fact that the best laid plans of disability access consultants were ignored.
Ms. Hoffmeyer and I discussed the lack of ADA compliance in the Jacksonville courthouse, and her difficulty in accessing the legal system in general. We also spoke about the fact that the difficulty in accessing the legal system is a much larger problem, than access for the disabled. Ms. Hoffmeyer is in the process of pursuing a simple legal matter as a pro se litigant; and she is an experienced paralegal having worked for attorneys for much of her working life. She was trying to set a hearing on a motion that she had filed. At every turn, however, the clerks of court told her that she needed an attorney to set a motion hearing. Ridiculous. It was her motion, she had written if for herself, filed it herself, but continually hit barriers when simply trying to set a hearing on that motion.
As a legal document preparer, I find I often must inoculate my customers against the unhelpful attitudes of the clerks of court. Not all the clerks. Some of them are absolutely wonderfully helpful. And they are most appreciated. Recently one of my customers was struggling to navigate the self-help computers at the clerk's office in Sarasota. All she wanted was a copy of a court order. After about 45 minutes one of the clerks came out from behind the counter, helped my customer, and in 30 seconds or less the order was printing. My grateful customer then left the courthouse, went to Publix, bought flowers, and took them to the clerk. Help is appreciated.
On the other hand, most of the stories go the other way. We know that the clerks are told they are not allowed to answer legal questions. And fair enough. We (legal document preparers) don't answer legal questions either. But, as expensive as filing fees are, you would think that consumers could get simple answers to simple questions. Countless times pro se litigants are frustrated by the entire process. Many give up. Some educate themselves online or go to the law library for information. Certain circuits have an on site attorney service, charged at a dollar a minute. Some courthouses have Pro Se Help Desks where pro se litigants can ask questions about documents and procedure. The Pro Se Help Desks are sometimes helpful and sometimes not.
In Miami-Dade family law pro se litigants are required to attend an appointment with a clerk at the Pro Se Help Desk before filing their documents. The appointment is supposedly to make sure that all of the documents are in order. The fact, however, is that the purpose of the meeting is for the clerk to make sure that the pro se litigant is using the Miami-Dade local family law forms. Many circuits have local forms. But only Miami-Dade not only requires pro se litigants to use their local family law forms, but also requires that pro se litigants purchase those forms from the Miami-Dade courthouse. Many circuits sell form packets, that include local and forms used statewide – Supreme Court approved forms. The Supreme Court approved forms in the packets are available as free downloads on the Florida Supreme Court's website, www.flcourts.org. Most of the form packets, in most of the circuits cost around $20. But only Miami-Dade charges around $70. for their form packets – and requires that pro se litigants purchase their forms from them. Forms for divorce, child custody, modifications, step-parent adoption, paternity, disestablishment of paternity, and on and on. All forms, available for free on the Florida Supreme Court's website – cost Miami-Dade litigants. I believe it is unfair, and Miami-Dade residents don't know they are being taken advantage of. They are being singled out to pay more for family law forms than any other pro se litigants in the state.
Barriers come in many forms.
As a single parent I agree so much with this. I spent 17,000 in attorneys and most of it went for filling and mediation. But the hard work and standing in court in which helped me be te residential parent was me. However, there is a way around it
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