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Full-Text Articles in Law
Pintea V Johns: 18 Months Later, Julie Macfarlane, Kaila Scarrow
Pintea V Johns: 18 Months Later, Julie Macfarlane, Kaila Scarrow
Law Publications
It has been 18 months since the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Pintea v Johns.1 NSRLP’s SRL Case Law Database project is tracking the emerging jurisprudence on issues relating to the treatment and management of self-‐‑ represented litigants by the courts, and we regard the impact of Pintea since that decision came down to be an important topic to address in our ongoing series of detailed reports. Specifically, we wanted to examine how the courts have been applying this landmark decision for self-‐‑represented litigants since April 2017. In Pintea v Johns, the Supreme Court of Canada endorses the Principles …
Substantial & Punitive Costs Awards Against Self-Represented Litigants, Julie Macfarlane, Ashley Haines
Substantial & Punitive Costs Awards Against Self-Represented Litigants, Julie Macfarlane, Ashley Haines
Law Publications
This report focuses on decisions that award costs against SRLs: that is, when they are on the losing side. We are interested in whether there is any difference in the way a losing party is treated, and how costs against them are assessed when they are self-representing, as opposed to when they are represented by a lawyer. At NSRLP our attention was first drawn to this issue as a result of our intervention in Pintea v Johns,3 where an SRL who failed to attend two case management conferences was held in contempt and ordered to pay $83,000 in costs (this …
Is Access To Court Transcripts In Canada An A2j Issue?, Julie Macfarlane, Kaila Scarrow, Becky Robinet
Is Access To Court Transcripts In Canada An A2j Issue?, Julie Macfarlane, Kaila Scarrow, Becky Robinet
Law Publications
Access to Justice requires that self-represented litigants (SRLs) be able, if they wish, to obtain a record of a court proceeding they have participated in. This is to ensure they did not miss hearing something important, and are able to comprehensively review what was said in the courtroom. Court hearings habitually use legal jargon that those without legal training may not understand, and as a result, the import of what is said by either the judge or the litigants’ lawyers during the hearing may be missed. Additionally, emotions and stress levels are usually high during a hearing, and sometimes the …
When Judges See Srls, Do They See Gender? Observations On Gendered Characterizations In Judgments, Julie Macfarlane, Sandra Shushani
When Judges See Srls, Do They See Gender? Observations On Gendered Characterizations In Judgments, Julie Macfarlane, Sandra Shushani
Law Publications
Introducing the Self-Represented Litigants Case Law Database Over 200 Canadian decisions have now been read and analyzed for the Self-Represented Litigants Case Law Database (CLD) by a research team at the National Self-Represented Litigants Project (NSRLP). The purpose of the Database is to track the emerging jurisprudence in all levels of courts across Canada, and to present findings that highlight patterns and themes evident within decisions reported by Canadian courts from coast to coast. Self-represented litigants, or SRLs, face a variety of obstacles and challenges throughout trial proceedings. Cases identified and analyzed in the CLD highlight four issues that the …
Costs Awards For Self-Represented Litigants, Julie Macfarlane, Lidia Imbrogno
Costs Awards For Self-Represented Litigants, Julie Macfarlane, Lidia Imbrogno
Law Publications
Over 200 Canadian decisions have now been read, analyzed, and added to the Self-Represented Litigants Case Law Database (CLD) by researchers at the National Self-Represented Litigants Project (NSRLP). The purpose of this database is to track the emerging jurisprudence at all levels of courts across Canada, as it relates to self-representation, and to present findings that highlight patterns and themes evident within decisions reported by Canadian courts from coast to coast. Self-represented litigants, or SRLs, face unique obstacles and challenges throughout trial proceedings. Cases included within the CLD focus on four issues that the NSRLP has noticed are raised with …
Introducing The Self-Represented Litigant Case Law Database, Julie Macfarlane, Sandra Shushani, Lidia Imbrogno
Introducing The Self-Represented Litigant Case Law Database, Julie Macfarlane, Sandra Shushani, Lidia Imbrogno
Law Publications
The Self-Represented Litigant (SRL) Case Law Database Project began in January of 2017 and is the newest work-in-progress of the National Self-Represented Litigants Project. Our goal is to track the developing jurisprudence across Canada in cases that relate to and affect the positions of individuals appearing unrepresented.
The Use Of Summary Judgment Procedures Against Self-Represented Litigants: Efficient Case Management Or Denial Of Access To Justice?, Julie Macfarlane, Katrina Trask, Erin Chesney
The Use Of Summary Judgment Procedures Against Self-Represented Litigants: Efficient Case Management Or Denial Of Access To Justice?, Julie Macfarlane, Katrina Trask, Erin Chesney
Law Publications
Approximately a year ago, a NSRLP lawyer-‐volunteer began to regularly observe hearings that included SRLs (self-‐ represented litigants) taking place at a busy Toronto courthouse. She reported that she was seeing a number of procedural motions against SRLs. In these cases, she noted, the SRL was usually bewildered and perplexed by what was happening – they had often come to court expecting to present their case for trial – and instead found that they were suddenly facing the dismissal of their action. At the NSRLP, we began to hear from SRLs who described efforts to dismiss their cases using a …
The National Self-Represented Litigants Project: Identifying And Meeting The Needs Of Self-Represented Litigants Final Report, Julie Macfarlane
The National Self-Represented Litigants Project: Identifying And Meeting The Needs Of Self-Represented Litigants Final Report, Julie Macfarlane
Law Publications
The goal of this qualitative study was to develop data on the experience of self-‐represented litigants in three Canadian provinces: Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario. Field sites in each province were used as primary data collection points, but SRL respondents also came via social media and from all over each province. In addition, service providers (court staff, duty counsel, pro bono lawyers, staff in community agencies working with SRL’s) were included in the sample. Most respondents (almost 90% of SRL’s and 100% of service providers) participated in an in-‐depth personal interview; the remaining 10% of SRL’s participated in a focus …