by Ryan McKeen
Our court system is outstanding.
Earlier this week, I wrote this post where I was a little critical of an instance where a clerk told my client to fill out an answer after filing an appearance.
Yesterday, my phone rang. It was the Judicial Branch. They had read my post and wanted to talk to me about my concerns. And talk we did.
What happened was that this case was on a housing civil docket. Housing courts regularly provide answer forms for pro se litigants defending against eviction. This is done because of the summary nature of eviction proceedings. Litigants are also handed materials that explain their rights in greater depth.
In my case, the case was on the housing court’s civil docket (which wasn’t clear to me given the nature of the case that’s where it would be). That’s why the clerk handed my client an answer form.
None of that is really the point. The point is that the Judicial Branch’s swift response to my post was impressive. We’re very lucky to have the clerks and administration that we have.