Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 1 of 1
Full-Text Articles in Law
Doing Unrepresented Status: The Social Construction And Production Of Pro Se Persons, Victor D. Quintanilla
Doing Unrepresented Status: The Social Construction And Production Of Pro Se Persons, Victor D. Quintanilla
Articles by Maurer Faculty
In this Article, I propose an understanding of the dynamic process through which society does unrepresented status that is informed by psychological and sociological research. In describing this doing of unrepresented status, I elaborate on two new concepts: the social construction of pro se status and the social production of unrepresented persons. These concepts illuminate ways in which the doing of unrepresented status is a routine, recurring feature in how court officials, lawyers, and law-trained persons perceive and interact with unrepresented persons within our civil justice system. That is, a pro se party is not something that an unrepresented person …