Legal Help Needed

The Ledger
Letter to the Editor
Published Thursday, January 29, 2004

Lakeland, Florida - People here in Polk County speak about the indigent-health-care problem. Well, there is just as serious a problem: the treatment of those individuals who cannot afford to hire an attorney.

A majority attempts to hire an attorney, but cannot. People then turn to Legal Aid for assistance. Then they are too shot down for help because they earn too much money. Where is an individual to go when he or she needs legal help.

How do I know? I am a freelance paralegal in Polk County. I do my best by providing low-cost services to individuals who are filing divorce, child-support modifications and other court-approved services. I do not give legal advice.

If the person begins to ask legal questions, then I tell them its in their best interest to contact an attorney. These people come to me because they cannot afford the high cost of attorneys.

The problem is if the individual who comes to me is being taken to court by another individual who has an attorney. My opinion is to tell them to consult an attorney. That is because, based on experience relayed to me by my clients, they are treated like second-class citizens once they get into court.

While not all attorneys and judges in this county treat the pro se litigant with disdain, the sad part is that a majority does. The judge severely chastises the individual in court for having hired a paralegal to answer his document to the court. The other attorney who is representing the other side jumps on the bandwagon, and my client is made to feel worthless and demeaned.

Usually that client does not have the opportunity to speak and is put down if asking to do so. When did we lose our First Amendment right to speak for ourselves?

All I ask is that the judges look at these people as doing the best they can do. Don't disparage what they have done to get there or who they hired to do it. I have heard some fantastic stories of judges bending over backward to help my clients, but those are few and far between. To those judges, I commend you. My clients thank you.

Going to court is trying enough for anyone. To be treated like a second-class citizen once you get there is ridiculous. Give them a break. Prisoners get a break if they are indigent, why not the citizens of Polk County who represent themselves in court?

JODI LEVINS

Eagle Lake