Abstract

There is widespread concern among scholars, court actors, and policy makers that the number of pro se litigants is increasing. However, we have little empirical evidence of the scope of pro se litigation, especially in the federal court system. Using data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts on all civil case filings since 1999, we investigate the prevalence and rate of pro se litigation in federal district courts. We find no evidence of a dramatic rise in pro se litigation, but we document substantial variation in rates of pro se litigation by type of case and circuit of filing. The results have implications for our understanding of self-representation and for the development of policies addressing access to civil justice.

Highlights

  • The classic access to justice narrative is a familiar one

  • Pro se litigation may involve only pro se plaintiffs, only pro se defendants, or at least one pro se plaintiff and defendant, we find that cases involving only pro se plaintiffs are the most common form of pro se litigation

  • While it is generally known that pro se plaintiffs account for a higher percentage of pro se litigation, our results show that cases involving pro se plaintiffs are more than ten times as prevalent as cases with pro se defendants

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Summary

INTRODUCTION

The classic access to justice narrative is a familiar one. It posits that individuals with civil legal problems are increasingly unable to afford—or find—lawyers to represent them. The potential for pro bono and traditional legal aid services to address existing civil legal needs (Charn 2009) and the efficacy of some self-help materials (Greiner, Jimenez, and Lupica 2017) have been called into question. We are unaware of any synthesis of these summary data or deeper analysis using the individual filing data This article addresses this gap, offering a first step toward deepening our understanding of pro se litigation in federal district court. We discuss the implications of our findings and conclude

EXISTING RESEARCH
The Significance of Pro Se Litigation
Existing Studies of Pro Se Litigation in Federal Court
DATA AND METHODS
The Scope of Pro Se Litigation over Time
Prisoner and Nonprisoner Pro Se Litigation over Time
US Government Defendant Diversity of Citizenship
The Trajectory of Pro Se Litigation
Pro Se Plaintiff and Defendant
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
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