Self-defenders get a friend of court

The two computers designed to help the legally-challenged are located in the new "Center for Representation," a corner of the law library on the first floor of the courthouse.

"It’s really cool," Chief Judge Margaret Mullen said. "Courts across the nation are all feeling the growth of pro se litigants, and we need to do a better job of responding to them."

"Pro se litigants" are those who represent themselves in court. They typically show up in Small Claims Court, which handles civil cases involving less than $5,000. In 2001, nearly 8,000 small claims cases were handled in the county courthouse.

Starting Thursday, they also can use the new computers to get advice on cutting through legalese, filling out court papers, and proceeding with cases.

As might be expected, groups like the Illinois State Bar Association are campaigning against what they call the "lawyer in the box" concept.

Last month, the Illinois group even ran a television campaign against the self-help computer programs.

But court officials in Lake County say they eventually want to expand the program to two other areas experiencing large numbers of pro se litigants: Divorce Court and Domestic Violence Court.

In many cases, starting a case in the court system only requires filing the proper paperwork, but that can be intimidating to a non-lawyer.

The computer program will do all the paperwork – at no cost except for normal filing fees. It asks the user’s name, then prompts him or her with questions. It fills out all the necessary fields and forms with check marks or paragraphs containing the proper legal terms needed on the form.

"When it’s done, it will pop out the completed form," said David Bender, the county’s law librarian.

The program is being funded by a $16,000 state grant from the Prairie State Legal Assistance Foundation, which provides free legal services to seniors and low-income residents.

For the computer savvy, the site also can be accessed at Lake County’s main Internet site at www.co.lake.il.us.

"People will be able to do it from their home, or church, or anywhere that has Internet access and a printer," Bender said.

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