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HALT's report card paints a bleak picture of small claims court systems nationwide. Of the fifty-one jurisdictions surveyed, none earned A's, and only two, California and the District of Columbia, received grades in the "B" range. Kentucky, Virginia, Kansas and Rhode Island each received F's, while Delaware, Georgia, Mississippi, and South Carolina received grades of "Incomplete" for not having a small claims court.
The states were graded in nine categories: (1) dollar limit, (2) availability of injunctive relief, (3) help with the collection process, (4) availability of advisors for litigants, (5) whether the court was open beyond the traditional 40-hour week, (6) existence of user-friendly complaint forms & guides to using the court, (7) amount of filing fees, (8) encouraging self-representation, and (9) availability of mediation.
"The poor showing of almost every state in the country reflects the fact our justice system is geared toward lawyers and not toward the average person," stated Tom Gordon, HALT's Associate Counsel. "The organized bar has regularly opposed efforts to expand these courts which cut out the middleman by allowing ordinary citizens to resolve disputes without hiring an attorney."
Data for the survey was collected over four months in late 2001 by a telephone survey of a sampling of small claims courts in the four largest counties and six other randomly selected counties in each state.
Small claims courts -- which use simplified procedures, require plain English, provide consumer aids and often prohibit lawyers -- have tremendous promise as a means of empowering ordinary people to take charge of their own routine legal needs.
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