General Assembly Raised Bill No. 1237
January Session, 2011 LCO No. 5155
*05155_______JUD*
Referred to Committee on Judiciary
Introduced by:
(JUD)
General Assembly
Raised Bill No. 1237
January Session, 2011
LCO No. 5155
*05155_______JUD*
Referred to Committee on Judiciary
Introduced by:
(JUD)
AN ACT CONCERNING STANDARDS FOR PRO SE REPRESENTATION IN CIVIL MATTERS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2011) (a) For the purposes of this section, "unbundling" means the separation of the legal services typically provided by attorneys into their discrete components, only some of which a pro se litigant contracts with an attorney to provide.
(b) The judges of the Superior Court shall adopt rules of procedure, in accordance with section 51-14 of the general statutes, to facilitate the hearing of civil matters and appeals where one or more of the parties has filed an appearance pro se. Such rules shall be applicable to civil matters in the Family Division and Civil Division of the Superior Court, except small claims matters, and appeals of such civil matters filed in the Appellate or Supreme Court. At a minimum, such rules shall establish options for the unbundling of legal services in such civil matters and appeals, provided (1) the pro se litigant is fully informed of the limits on the scope of the representation, (2) such limits on the scope of representation do not bar the provision of competent legal service, and (3) opposing counsel is required to treat the pro se litigant as an unrepresented party until such time as the pro se litigant or an attorney for the pro se litigant provides reasonable notice that the pro se litigant has obtained full legal representation.
(c) Not later than March 1, 2012, the Chief Court Administrator shall submit a report on the status of the rules required under this section to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to the judiciary. Such rules shall be submitted in accordance with section 11-4a of the general statutes.
Sec. 2. (Effective October 1, 2011) (a) Not later than January 1, 2012, until December 31, 2012, the Chief Court Administrator shall establish within available resources a mandatory training program for pro se litigants in (1) civil matters in the Family Division and Civil Division of the Superior Court for the judicial district of Hartford, except small claims matters, and (2) any appeal of such civil matter filed in the Appellate or Supreme Court. To the extent possible, the Chief Court Administrator shall use the services of attorneys who are able to provide such training on a voluntary basis. The Chief Court Administrator shall ensure that participants in the training program are informed that the provision of training under the program does not constitute the practice of law by the volunteer attorney or any other person.
(b) Such training program shall address rules of practice that are common to the civil matters and appeals described in subdivisions (1) and (2) of subsection (a) of this section. On and after January 1, 2012, each pro se litigant in such civil matter or appeal shall be required to attend the mandatory training program prior to a hearing on such civil matter or appeal unless: (1) The pro se litigant demonstrates that he or she has already completed the training, (2) no training program is available prior to the hearing, (3) upon motion of the pro se litigant, the judge, judge trial referee or family support magistrate, as the case may be, determines that such training would cause an undue hardship, or (4) for other good cause shown.
(c) The judges of the Superior Court may adopt rules of procedure, in accordance with section 51-14 of the general statutes, to implement the provisions of this section.
(d) Not later than February 1, 2013, the Chief Court Administrator shall submit a report on the training program to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to the judiciary. Such report shall be submitted in accordance with section 11-4a of the general statutes.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2011 New section
Sec. 2 October 1, 2011 New section
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
October 1, 2011
New section
Sec. 2
October 1, 2011
New section
Statement of Purpose:
To: (1) Require the judges of the Superior Court to adopt rules that permit an attorney to provide legal services on a limited basis to a pro se litigant in order to facilitate the processing of civil matters and appeals where a party has filed an appearance pro se; and (2) establish a pilot program in the judicial district of Hartford to provide training to pro se litigants in certain civil matters and appeals.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]