Access to Justice

Reflection Paper 6
November 22, 2015
By: Kirk Brown 104370162

Sunday

Prior to this reading regarding Self-Represented Litigants (SRL) my

understanding of their plight solely related to people who could not afford
legal representation. Essentially I believed they had no choice and that there
was little support, however from this reading it doesnt seem to be the case.
Also during PILS week when researching our plaintiffs case I definitely came
across some support groups for SRL, but it still seemed quite sparse. I had
no idea the courts have an obligation to ensure there is a fair trial. This
seems like an enormous obligation considering the varying circumstances
SRLs may be in. For example, at the end of the reading Justice Blishen asks
should an SRL with previous experience in the legal systemor has access to
legal resourcesbe treated the same way as an SRL who is experiencing the
legal system for the first time? An easy answer would be no. They are able
to better handle themselves within the legal arena, therefore a judge should
take this into consideration. But the problem with this is how is this
determined? For example, besides wealth how does the court know what
resources an SRL has available to them? I believe this is currently the case,
however I would think by treating these two examples differently would or
could lead to SRLs hiding their resources or even their knowledge of the
Courts in the hopes of receiving favourable treatment. The favourable
treatment, as she states in her paper, can lead to people with means to
afford legal representation choosing be a SRL.
The thought I had during the reading is if someone has the means to afford
legal representation they should be forced to. They can still be an SRL in the
general sense, however for these individuals who are choosing to be an SRL,
the courts should not have to play this game of what fair treatment is the
court obligated to provide. This would save time and money. As for those
without the means every effort should be made on the part of the Courts to
provide legal counsel for example legal aid. Only issue is everyone has the
right to represent themselves in the Court of law. It would be interesting to
examine where this right is derived from and maybe it should be reexamined in the context of the options available above and additional
burden the SRL process places on the legal justice system. But with all this
said it is very clear over the course of our Access to Justice readings and
mentioned by Justice Bilshen as well, our legal justice system is too
complicated. Recently in volunteering for CLA I had a client who was
attempting to appeal his conviction under the HTA. The forms available at
the courthouse are unnecessarily complicated and convoluted. It is not
written in plain language and is generally not something not accessible to
the general public essentially forcing an individual to consult a lawyer.
In relation to the other two articles I wasnt sure how they fit in with the SRL
reading besides demonstrating the volume of cases the government and

subsequently the Courts have to deal with. The amount of time, the amount
of people involved, the convoluted procedures, the process is in desperate
need of improvement to ensure accessibility. From previous readings it
seems part of the answer is the push towards ADR, but it has its pitfalls, as
well as deciding what process of ADR works best. It really would be
interesting to study this more in depth to what is being done. Not only in
Canada, but around the world. I would hope the current state of affairs is not
the best we can do.
Annotated Video Bibliography
Bookman, Steven M, Main problems facing self litigants, The Family Law
Support Team (30 March 2009) YouTube, < https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=3citEbXzxWI>
Steven M. Bookman M.A. LL.B. Ph.D is one of Canadas most experienced
family and estate law lawyers currently working in Toronto, Ontario. He writes
and publishes in the area of family law. He also gives speeches and lectures,
mentors young lawyers for the Law Society of Upper Canada and the
Canadian Bar Association, and instructs students in this specialized field.
The video describes a couple of the main issues faced by SRLs. What is
interesting is they are not specifically mentioned in Justice Blishens paper.
They are related to SRLs not knowing the process, which leads to delays, but
also frustration on the part of the judge.
Feldstein, Andrew, Rogers Daytime Toronto With Val Cole, Feldstein Family
Law Group (9 Nov 2014) YouTube, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=0sR8I30K5p4>
Andrew Feldstein is the founder of Feldstein Family Law Group. In 2010 he
was appointed as a Dispute Resolution Officer Panel for Newmarket. He has
a website aimed at tackling the issues of expense, lengthy litigation,
convoluted process etc. - http://www.itstimeforjustice.ca/. In this he provides
an option to combat the lengthiness and expense 1. Is the move to
unbundled services or limited retainers where clients can pay only for the
services they need and 2. At the move towards a more electronic process
that eliminates the physical back forth of drafting papers and serving them.