shlep: the Self-Help Law ExPress

Whether lawyers are involved or not, divorce cases often languish on court dockets, incomplete and unattended.  Some states, such as New York, have administrative rules which prod judges to keep cases from getting stale.  In others, like California, there are apparently no built-in mechanisms to make sure that each pending lawsuit continues to actively move toward a resolution. 

An article this week in the Los Angeles Times, explores the problem — which they suggest is particularly prevalent for “do-it-yourself” divorces — and tells of one judge’s attempts to find solutions for the pro se litigants and others with stale divorce cases. (L.A. Times, “Do-it-yourself divorce doesn’t always sever ties,” by Jessica Garrison, Jan. 1, 2007)  (Hat Tip: George Wallace, at D&E)  The article focuses on Judge Mark A. Juhas of the Los Angeles County Superior Court, who discovered that:

 “about a third of the roughly 3,600 divorce cases filed in 2001 and 2002 and assigned to his courtroom remain open.  Some of those couples may have reconciled, but Juhas suspects that many more are stuck or may even think they are divorced when they are not.”

  The Times notes that “In California, getting divorced takes at least three steps: filing divorce papers, serving them on the spouse and then writing and processing a judgment with the court. The process can be more complicated if there are children or fights over assets.”   Last spring, Judge Juhas began calling in about 100 people a month whose divorce cases have languished and asking them if they need help.  He has found that about half of them still want to be divorced, but need some help (e.g., with entering the judgment after a divorce is granted). At the sessions, attorneys, some volunteer, others employees of the court’s family law resource center, help the parties figure out their status and assist people with the necesssary paperwork.

The article states that court officials are considering expanding Judge Juhas’ approach across the State.   California already does far more than most states to help “self-represented” litigants with family and divorce law issues — from extensive online Self-Help information and forms, to Self-Help Centers with trained employees and volunteers in courthouses, to providing family law facilitators in each court, who help people without lawyers (regardless of the financial status) navigate the litigation process from start to finish.   We can assume that the problem is at least as bad in states with less robust assistance for the self-represented.

 Clearly, the continuing problem of incomplete divorce cases in a model self-help state like California underscores the conclusion of experts — such as Bonnie Hough of the California Center for Families, Children and the Courts and Richard Zorza of SelfHelpSupport.org, who are quoted in the article — that adequate self-help assistance must include information and procedures that help pro se litigants understand, and accomplish, the steps necessary to complete the process they start by petitioning the court.   Let’s hope that Judge Juhas’ experience will spur experimentation and implementation of efficient and effective follow-up programs across his state and the nation.