Defending yourself—not worth the risk

Photo courtesy of kylebaker

We all know someone who has defended themselves in court—our own Langara media law instructor has done it, but there are risks to going to court by yourself.

Vancouver labour lawyer Dan Rogers said there are more people defending themselves than ever before.

"Lay litigants (people without lawyers) are increasing because of a) the cost. Totally understandable. People want access to justice and can't afford it—something wrong with that picture—and b) a lot of it has to do with the long term downsizing of Legal Aid and increasing of costs attached to the Courts.

Burnaby family law lawyer Mark Rozenberg disagrees that it is because of Legal Aid cutbacks. For family law cases, he says, it has been at least 12 years since aid has been available.

Since that time Legal Aid has only been available for extreme cases where violence is involved or some other extenuating circumstance that is very severe.

He attributes the increase mainly to the cost of hiring a lawyer and people just thinking they can defend themselves without help. Some people, he says, will hire a lawyer for an hour or so to do the paperwork and then go into court without legal assistance.

Rozenberg said the problem with not having a lawyer is "many don't understand what is going on. They may not know the procedures."

Rogers said that some lay litigants do just fine, but many are lost. Both men agree the  irony is that people without lawyers often slow the process down because judges have to stop proceedings to help them through the process and they because people without a legal background will litigate issues that a good lawyer could resolve. 

Rogers said, there are resources to help people understand the court system,  but there really is no substitute for a good experienced lawyer.

Resources if you defend yourself: 

The Canadian Bar Association - a step-by-step guide to what you need to know if you do decide to go to court on your own. 

Canadian Judicial Council - another guide to what you need to know if you are thinking of defending yourself and not hiring a lawyer.

The other side

Not everyone agrees that it is risky to defend yourself. Here is a site dedicated to helping people fight the law on their own.

The U.S.

The Gideon ruling of 1963 says that everyone has the right to a lawyer even if the person can not afford one. Is that right being honoured? This article looks at the legal situation for the poor in America.


Have you defended yourself in court? Let me know your story thuncher@shaw.ca