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Going to court without an attorney is intimidating and can be confusing. Yet, as many as seventeen million people represent themselves in civil cases each year.1 This number is expected to increase as more Kentucky families experience civil legal issues as a result of Covid-19. Legal Aid of the Bluegrass (LABG) is releasing “Your Day in Court: Representing Yourself in Kentucky Courts” a short animated video that educates self-represented litigants on court basics.
The video, created with funding from the Kentucky Bar Foundation and in collaboration with the Kentucky Access to Justice Commission, guides people on how to go to court alone, better understand court expectations and process, and feel confident before entering the courtroom. Providing legal information tools for people to successfully represent themselves in court is one way LABG can reduce the justice gap, the difference between the civil legal needs of low-income Americans and the resources available to meet those needs.
Even though Kentucky Courts are changing how they are hear cases, the recommendations in our animated video still provide self-represented people accurate and useful information. We are also releasing an infographic that outlines what people can expect in the new normal of virtual hearings.
Visit www.lablaw.org/DIYfor these and more materials on going to court without an attorney.
1. Steinberg, Jessica, Demand Side Reform in the Poor People's Court (2015). Connecticut Law Review, Vol. 47, No. 3, p. 741, February 2015; GWU Law School Public Law Research Paper No. 2015-21; GWU Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2015-21. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2613648
