176. An SRL's Brilliant take on the legal system...

VIEWS@11696

The following is a brilliant take on our present legal system.
I have inserted / underlined responses where motivated.
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"Karin Litzcke commented on Chasing Down the Data: How Doubtful Assertions about SRLs Sometimes Become “Facts.”

in response to nsrlp:

As a researcher, one of the things I have noticed over the years is the tendency for an anecdote to morph into a definitive research finding – and to sometimes take on a life of its own, repeated over and over. Similarly, “canned” references to a research study which simplify and even distort the original […]

It is really interesting to read about how SRLs are categorized based on why we’re self-representing, but I wonder if a more useful analysis would be to categorize us based on *1) why we are taking legal action. I think this 2007 analysis will prove to be a horse already quickly being overtaken by a cart; that is to say, there is likely – in fact certainly, because I fall in this category – legal action being undertaken now that SR is possible that would not have been thought of ten years ago and would certainly never have constituted paid work for a lawyer. The phenomenon of SRL seems to engender within the legal community (present company excepted) the question “but why aren’t they hiring us?” SRLs themselves, meanwhile, are saying “now that we don’t have to hire a lawyer, *2) think of all the legal action that is within our grasp!”
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*1) Clearly because we feel we have been dealt an undeserving blow, or feel we have been had, and cannot let it go unaccounted for!
*2) This SRL is saying, I have experienced the beast, and it is firmly encaged, and highly protective!
Enter at your own peril! In order to tame it, we will have to set it free!
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Karin:
"I don’t know enough of the history of law to understand why lawyers exist in the first place – and bear with me for a moment while I try to make this less idiotic than it sounds. If the court is based on replacing the monarch, which I gather it is, then weren’t petitioners always able to submit a petition on their own behalf? If that’s true, then the SRL phenomenon is more of a return to the core model on which the courts were based, rather than an intrusion into lawyers’ territory. *3) I do hope someone can ground me in reality on this point (perhaps a blog post?)."
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*3) A quote from Master Google: (talking about early courts in England)
 "To dispense justice throughout the country, a judge and court personnel would periodically travel a regional circuit to deal with cases that had arisen there. From this developed a body of lawyers who were on socially familiar terms with the judges, had training and experience in the superior courts, and had access to a greater corpus of research material and accumulated knowledge on the interpretation and application of the law." 

Hence I guess the term amongst 'equals' as 'My Honourable Friend.' Also, it must remembered that in order to keep the peace and retain a proper, and respectful demeanour in a Court room, to have knowledgeable and objective representation was assumed advantageous. Since over time, the system has grown to be self-serving, we have come to experience otherwise.
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Karin:
"Anyway, it seems to me that on the whole, SRLs can be categorized much as lawyers can: area of law, level of court, years of experience :-) I think in particular that family law SRLs have a quite *4) distinct set of needs from other SRLs, which doesn’t become evident until they are parsed out from the rest. And the short answer to the question of why we’re taking legal action without hiring lawyers is *5) “because we can!” I don’t mean to minimize the effort involved, as I’ve got post-traumatic court syndrome myself, but as a dyed-in-the-wool DIYer in areas ranging from home renovation to health care, to a large extent it really is that simple.
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*4) I wholeheartedly agree; family matters are much closer to the heart, especially when children are involved.

*5) Aye, but herein lies the rub. Just because we can, we may wrongfully assume that since we have eliminated the middle/man, Justice is closer at hand. My experience has clearly proven the present system is all-mighty; it will do what it can to maintain its status quo.

Any battles fought to make more reasonable and 'Just' changes is going to continue to need our combined active pressures and demands.
We must remember this is a process determined by winners and losers. It is NOT about justice.
In order to make it so, most drastic changes have to be implemented.

I suggest we begin at the beginning:

1) The Rules of Civil Procedure must be re-written to become MUCH firmer; i.e. no room for interpretation! No 'OR' Rules...
2) We must have identical laws across the country! No excuses for 'lack of Jurisdiction.'
3) Language shall be simplified and comprehensible by any English speaking person with a grade 5 education :)
4) As long as Judges are human, they must be held accountable!
-  I suggest they are NOT well-practiced lawyers + I feel they must serve in foreign Jurisdictions!
- They must have proven their capacity as honourable human beings, and appointed based on their life record and conscience.
5) Case law must be eliminated.
6) Certain claims, especially those based on contracts, can be assessed by a programmed computer.
- A contract = a contract = a contract!
7) Motions must be scrutinized, before allowed.
8) Counter claims must be dealt with separately, unless proven inter-connectedly relevant to the claim.
etc...

My last 7 years experience have been like a costly jail term. I have to stop reminding myself of all the inconceivable nightmares I have endured. The many thousands of hours of painstaking efforts; the paperwork; the waiting game. All the super negative feelings I have suffered. I continue to shake my head wondering WHY I continue to see the importance of carrying on, albeit in a more quiet, less emotionally draining manner. To know the guilty are running our worlds!

My need to continue lies in the realization there are younger generations at stake; will they too be eaten alive by the ever growing evils on this Planet? Are we to continue as pons, and fodder to the few? Will there ever be an end to feudalism? Will this spit-in-the-bucket species of ours be eliminated for our sheer foolishness?

It is now, or never! We shall soon know the truth.  Have a nice day, eh?