It sounds good. Pro se
empowerment, pro se meaning self represented litigant. And
empowerment, meaning, you know, having power. But, how do you get it,
and how can someone who is self represented have any power anyway? We
all know that the courts, the judges, the lawyers, the police
officers, the politicians, the wealthy, and everyone but everyday Joe
and Jane are the ones with power. So if we have a court case to fight
or defend, how do we obtain any power at all.
First, stand your ground.
And I don't mean shoot someone because you can. I mean know your
rights and know the authority granting that right. I am not a
proponent or follower of any type of anti-government group. I
consider sovereign nation groups and the patriot movement as lunatic
extremist groups and do not support them in any fashion. I mean, like
our past leaders taught us, stand up for the rights that you hold
dear. Stand up for your right to free speech, your right to raise
your children, your right to own your home. But know well the grounds
upon which you stand.
In my work as a document
preparer, I hear stories every day. I hear about the court clerk who
refused to accept documents for filing; the judge who did not follow
the law; and the law enforcement officer who failed to protect and
serve. It is our duty as citizens to call out our government
officials, police, politicians, judges and clerks when they impose
and uphold unjust laws.
In 1963, Dr. Martin
Luther King wrote, in his famous letter from the Birmingham jail:
"One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey
just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey
unjust laws." Dr. King taught us to break unjust laws openly and
with love, but only after negotiations proved futile.
Henry David Thoreau, in
Civil Disobedience wrote:
I
heartily accept the motto,—“That government is best which governs
least;” and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and
systematically. Carried out, it finally amounts to this, which I also
believe,—“That government is best which governs not at all;”
and when men are prepared for it, that will be the kind of government
which they will have. Government is at best but an expedient; but
most governments are usually, and all governments are sometimes,
inexpedient.
—Thoreau,
If you are a citizen,
consumer, pro se litigant in the midst of a law suit, whether a
divorce, a custody dispute, a foreclosure, or something else,
recognize that you are in a battlefield that is not your own. You are
in foreign terrain where your opponents will lay traps, and employ
trickery and gamesmanship. Beware and be aware.
Rely only on yourself. To
transform yourself into a reliable person, learn everything you can.
Learn all you can about the rules, laws, procedures, traditions, and
argument. Read case law. Case law, precedent, is law just as the
statutes are law. Judges must follow case law. If a case in your
circuit or appellate court was decided a certain way, and your facts
and circumstances are the same, your case should be decided the same
way.
- Learn how to read case law.
- Teach yourself.
- Educate yourself.
- Get help if its available.
- Watch your case docket. Check it everyday.
- Take a court reporter to every hearing with you.
- Answer every pleading filed by the other side.
- Persist.
- Learn the rules of courtroom decorum. Dress appropriately every time you go to court.
Empowerment begins when
you know that your destiny is in your hands. The world doesn't care.
You care about your situation, as do your loved ones. But, that's
all. The world in general doesn't care if you win or lose; whether
you keep your house or lose it; whether you have custody of your
children or you don't; whether you were treated fairly or not.
