APPENDIXES
APPENDIX A Pro Se Litigant Information
APPENDIX B FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT
APPENDIX C TOC - EVIDENCE
APPENDIX D LEGAL BRIEF
APPENDIX E CASE LAWS AND STATUTES
APPENDIX F FEDERAL RULES OF EVIDENCE
APPENDIX G PARTIAL LIST OF OLYMPIC BUSINESSES
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APPENDIX A
PRO SE LITIGANT EXPLANATIONS AND COMMENTS
Had there been an internet what follows would have been compiled and available, and, had I known these statistics there would have come a time of sober, or, not so sober, reflection re being a pre se litigant. As it turned I had no choice so forward went the wagons. With the following information you can determine whether you would want to represent yourself in any court, unless of course, you had no choice (and even then).
Wikipedia Generalizations
Pro se legal representation refers to the instance of a person representing himself or herself, without a lawyer, in a court proceeding, whether as a defendant or a plaintiff and whether the matter is civil or criminal. Pro se is a Latin phrase meaning "for oneself." This status is sometimes known as propria persona (abbreviated to "pro per"). Many state and the federal courts systems are experiencing an increasing proportion of pro se litigants. In the United States federal court system for the year 2007 approximately 27% of actions filed, 92% of prisoner petitions, and 10% of non-prisoner petitions, were filed by pro se litigants. The right of a party to a legal action to represent his or her own cause has long been recognized in the United States, and even predates the ratification of the Constitution. The Supreme Court noted that "[i]n the federal courts the right of self-representation has been protected by statute since the beginnings of our Nation. Section 35 of the Judiciary Act of 1789 signed by President Washington, one day before the Sixth Amendment was proposed which provided that "in all the courts of the United States, the parties may plead and manage their own causes personally or by the assistance of counsel."
Section 1654 of title 28 of the United States Code provides: "In all courts of the United States the parties may plead and conduct their own cases personally or by counsel as, by the rules of such courts, respectively, are permitted to manage and conduct causes therein." Most states have a constitutional provision that either expressly, or by interpretation, allows individuals to represent their own causes in the courts of that state.
Limits
In some situations, self-represented appearances are not allowed. Generally, an owner can represent a solely owned business or partnership, but only a licensed attorney can represent a corporation. The ability of a party to proceed without an attorney in prosecuting or defending a civil action is largely a matter of state law, and may vary depending on the court and the positions of the parties. A longstanding and widely practiced rule prohibits corporations from being represented by non-attorneys, consistent with the existence of a corporation as a "person" separate and distinct from its officers and employees. Few federal court of appeals allow unrepresented litigants to argue, and in all courts the percentage of cases in which argument occurs is higher for counseled cases.
Notable pro se litigants
The pro se defendant in Kolender v. Lawson (461 U.S. 352, 1983), in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a police officer could not arrest a citizen merely for refusing to present identification.
Robert Kerns was the inventor of the intermittent windshield wiper. He acted as his own lawyer in parts of his long legal battles for patent infringement against Ford and Chrysler. His legal battles are the subject of the 2008 film, Flash of Genius.
Clarence Earl Gideon was too poor to afford an attorney and thus proceeded pro se in his criminal trial in Florida in 1961. He was found guilty and subsequently appealed. He was appointed counsel when the case reached the U.S. Supreme Court; the Court ruled in Gideon v. Wainwright that the right to counsel means that states are required to provide counsel free of charge to indigent criminal defendants and that Florida's failure to appoint such counsel in Gideon's case constituted a violation of that right. On remand Gideon was represented in the new trial, and was acquitted.
Brandon Moon spent 17 years in jail for a rape that he did not commit. He was convicted after being picked from a lineup 18 months after the rape in which he was the only blue eyed white man. He was a sophomore in college and a veteran of four years in the air force when he was accused. He was released due to DNA evidence after help from the Innocence Project. He spent his prison years learning about blood tests, eye witness identification and law. Before the Innocence Project became involved, Moon represented himself and repeatedly applied for relief but, according to his lawyer he was "bounced around the courts like a Ping-Pong ball" because "The courts are so hostile to pro se litigants. The instinct is to deny, deny, deny."
Thomas Van Orden, a lawyer with a suspended license to practice law who was living homeless in Austin, Texas managed to challenge a religious display on the state capitol grounds, and successfully navigated his case all the way to the Supreme Court. While he was ultimately unsuccessful at getting the display removed, he was extremely successful at litigating the case.
Anthony Pellicano, a Los Angeles-based private investigator known for working with high-profile entertainment industry attorneys, represented himself in federal district court after being indicted on numerous counts of criminal conspiracy and wiretapping charges. He fired his attorneys prior to trial. He was convicted on all but one count. He also faced a second trial along with co-defendant Terry Christiansen. He again represented himself and again was convicted on numerous counts.
Barbara Schwarz, of Salt Lake City, Utah has filed a large number of Freedom of Information and Privacy Act (FOIPA) requests. When the responses failed to verify her claims, she responded with litigation, which she has done pro se. At least one of her lawsuits have been considered by a U.S. District or U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals somewhere in the nation every year since 1993."
James Traficant, a former U.S. Representative from Ohio, represented himself in a RICO case in 1983, and was acquitted of all charges, becoming the only person to ever win a RICO case while representing himself. Traficant would represent himself again in 2002, this time unsuccessfully, and was sentenced to prison for 8 years for taking bribes, filing false tax returns, and racketeering.
Lenny Bruce represented himself in a number of obscenity trials, including Chicago Gate of Horn case, People v. Bruce.
Resources
Self-represented litigants may turn to "self-help" assistance. These tend to come from three sources: local courts, which may offer limited self-help assistance; and public interest groups, such as the American Bar Association, which sponsors reform and promotes resources for self-help, and services which sell pre-made forms allowing self-represented parties to have correct documents.
The American Bar Association (ABA) has also been involved with issues related to self-representation. The ABA has awarded a grant in 2008 to the Chicago Kent College of Law Center for Access to Justice & Technology for making justice more accessible to the public through the use of the Internet in teaching, legal practice and public access to the law. Their A2J Author Project is a software tool that empowers those from the courts, legal services programs and educational institutions to create guided interviews resulting in document assembly, electronic filing and data collection. Viewers using A2J to go through a guided interview are led down a virtual pathway to the courthouse. As they answer simple questions about their legal issue, the technology then “translates” the answers to create, or assemble, the documents that are needed for filing with the court.
In representing oneself as Pro Se litigant, access to the WESTLAW database of legal practices and appellate court decisions, will provided valuable information on cause of action and elements of proof outlines for basic Complaint and Summary Judgment filings. Valuable case citations giving guidance in forming interrogative (discovery) questions, by state, are also easily extracted and copied to portable (thumb)drives for inclusion in personal records, or other court work. Free Access to this very costly subscription internet database resource is commonly available in the local law library, and in some locations goes basically unused in the towns main library. Internet access to State and Federal statutes provides useful insight into what is currently considered right or wrong conduct by law enforcement or individuals. Internet access to County, State and Federal public domain databases concerning property tax appraisal records, corporations, trusts and other legal entities can often provide (after diligent searching) much useful information on the policies and practices of the opposing individual and their counsel. Also, numerous examples of common complaint problems or pleadings are found on the internet, along with sometimes helpful videos produced by concerned lawyers.
APPENDIX A Pro Se Litigant Information
APPENDIX B FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT
APPENDIX C TOC - EVIDENCE
APPENDIX D LEGAL BRIEF
APPENDIX E CASE LAWS AND STATUTES
APPENDIX F FEDERAL RULES OF EVIDENCE
APPENDIX G PARTIAL LIST OF OLYMPIC BUSINESSES
**************************************
APPENDIX A
PRO SE LITIGANT EXPLANATIONS AND COMMENTS
Had there been an internet what follows would have been compiled and available, and, had I known these statistics there would have come a time of sober, or, not so sober, reflection re being a pre se litigant. As it turned I had no choice so forward went the wagons. With the following information you can determine whether you would want to represent yourself in any court, unless of course, you had no choice (and even then).
Wikipedia Generalizations
Pro se legal representation refers to the instance of a person representing himself or herself, without a lawyer, in a court proceeding, whether as a defendant or a plaintiff and whether the matter is civil or criminal. Pro se is a Latin phrase meaning "for oneself." This status is sometimes known as propria persona (abbreviated to "pro per"). Many state and the federal courts systems are experiencing an increasing proportion of pro se litigants. In the United States federal court system for the year 2007 approximately 27% of actions filed, 92% of prisoner petitions, and 10% of non-prisoner petitions, were filed by pro se litigants. The right of a party to a legal action to represent his or her own cause has long been recognized in the United States, and even predates the ratification of the Constitution. The Supreme Court noted that "[i]n the federal courts the right of self-representation has been protected by statute since the beginnings of our Nation. Section 35 of the Judiciary Act of 1789 signed by President Washington, one day before the Sixth Amendment was proposed which provided that "in all the courts of the United States, the parties may plead and manage their own causes personally or by the assistance of counsel."
Section 1654 of title 28 of the United States Code provides: "In all courts of the United States the parties may plead and conduct their own cases personally or by counsel as, by the rules of such courts, respectively, are permitted to manage and conduct causes therein." Most states have a constitutional provision that either expressly, or by interpretation, allows individuals to represent their own causes in the courts of that state.
Limits
In some situations, self-represented appearances are not allowed. Generally, an owner can represent a solely owned business or partnership, but only a licensed attorney can represent a corporation. The ability of a party to proceed without an attorney in prosecuting or defending a civil action is largely a matter of state law, and may vary depending on the court and the positions of the parties. A longstanding and widely practiced rule prohibits corporations from being represented by non-attorneys, consistent with the existence of a corporation as a "person" separate and distinct from its officers and employees. Few federal court of appeals allow unrepresented litigants to argue, and in all courts the percentage of cases in which argument occurs is higher for counseled cases.
Notable pro se litigants
The pro se defendant in Kolender v. Lawson (461 U.S. 352, 1983), in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a police officer could not arrest a citizen merely for refusing to present identification.
Robert Kerns was the inventor of the intermittent windshield wiper. He acted as his own lawyer in parts of his long legal battles for patent infringement against Ford and Chrysler. His legal battles are the subject of the 2008 film, Flash of Genius.
Clarence Earl Gideon was too poor to afford an attorney and thus proceeded pro se in his criminal trial in Florida in 1961. He was found guilty and subsequently appealed. He was appointed counsel when the case reached the U.S. Supreme Court; the Court ruled in Gideon v. Wainwright that the right to counsel means that states are required to provide counsel free of charge to indigent criminal defendants and that Florida's failure to appoint such counsel in Gideon's case constituted a violation of that right. On remand Gideon was represented in the new trial, and was acquitted.
Brandon Moon spent 17 years in jail for a rape that he did not commit. He was convicted after being picked from a lineup 18 months after the rape in which he was the only blue eyed white man. He was a sophomore in college and a veteran of four years in the air force when he was accused. He was released due to DNA evidence after help from the Innocence Project. He spent his prison years learning about blood tests, eye witness identification and law. Before the Innocence Project became involved, Moon represented himself and repeatedly applied for relief but, according to his lawyer he was "bounced around the courts like a Ping-Pong ball" because "The courts are so hostile to pro se litigants. The instinct is to deny, deny, deny."
Thomas Van Orden, a lawyer with a suspended license to practice law who was living homeless in Austin, Texas managed to challenge a religious display on the state capitol grounds, and successfully navigated his case all the way to the Supreme Court. While he was ultimately unsuccessful at getting the display removed, he was extremely successful at litigating the case.
Anthony Pellicano, a Los Angeles-based private investigator known for working with high-profile entertainment industry attorneys, represented himself in federal district court after being indicted on numerous counts of criminal conspiracy and wiretapping charges. He fired his attorneys prior to trial. He was convicted on all but one count. He also faced a second trial along with co-defendant Terry Christiansen. He again represented himself and again was convicted on numerous counts.
Barbara Schwarz, of Salt Lake City, Utah has filed a large number of Freedom of Information and Privacy Act (FOIPA) requests. When the responses failed to verify her claims, she responded with litigation, which she has done pro se. At least one of her lawsuits have been considered by a U.S. District or U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals somewhere in the nation every year since 1993."
James Traficant, a former U.S. Representative from Ohio, represented himself in a RICO case in 1983, and was acquitted of all charges, becoming the only person to ever win a RICO case while representing himself. Traficant would represent himself again in 2002, this time unsuccessfully, and was sentenced to prison for 8 years for taking bribes, filing false tax returns, and racketeering.
Lenny Bruce represented himself in a number of obscenity trials, including Chicago Gate of Horn case, People v. Bruce.
Resources
Self-represented litigants may turn to "self-help" assistance. These tend to come from three sources: local courts, which may offer limited self-help assistance; and public interest groups, such as the American Bar Association, which sponsors reform and promotes resources for self-help, and services which sell pre-made forms allowing self-represented parties to have correct documents.
The American Bar Association (ABA) has also been involved with issues related to self-representation. The ABA has awarded a grant in 2008 to the Chicago Kent College of Law Center for Access to Justice & Technology for making justice more accessible to the public through the use of the Internet in teaching, legal practice and public access to the law. Their A2J Author Project is a software tool that empowers those from the courts, legal services programs and educational institutions to create guided interviews resulting in document assembly, electronic filing and data collection. Viewers using A2J to go through a guided interview are led down a virtual pathway to the courthouse. As they answer simple questions about their legal issue, the technology then “translates” the answers to create, or assemble, the documents that are needed for filing with the court.
In representing oneself as Pro Se litigant, access to the WESTLAW database of legal practices and appellate court decisions, will provided valuable information on cause of action and elements of proof outlines for basic Complaint and Summary Judgment filings. Valuable case citations giving guidance in forming interrogative (discovery) questions, by state, are also easily extracted and copied to portable (thumb)drives for inclusion in personal records, or other court work. Free Access to this very costly subscription internet database resource is commonly available in the local law library, and in some locations goes basically unused in the towns main library. Internet access to State and Federal statutes provides useful insight into what is currently considered right or wrong conduct by law enforcement or individuals. Internet access to County, State and Federal public domain databases concerning property tax appraisal records, corporations, trusts and other legal entities can often provide (after diligent searching) much useful information on the policies and practices of the opposing individual and their counsel. Also, numerous examples of common complaint problems or pleadings are found on the internet, along with sometimes helpful videos produced by concerned lawyers.
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