Self-Help for Pro Se Litigants

A Self-Help Center first designed and developed to serve pro se litigants in Hennepin County has been expanded to serve litigants throughout Minnesota and is being held up as a model for courts to emulate nationwide.

Susan Ledray and Katrina Zabinski, coordinators of the Minnesota Judicial Branch Virtual Self-Help Center and designers of the Hennepin County Self-Help Center (SHC), were honored March 14 as 2008 Honorable Mention recipients of the John R. Finnegan Freedom of Information Award.

Ledray and Zabinski designed the award-winning service for self-represented litigants, and used government information to define and meet the needs of the targeted population. The nomination document notes that the Self-Help Center helps “thousands ofpro se litigants in Minnesota to move through court more efficiently, more effectively and more informed.” The Virtual Self-Help Center is available for viewing online at www.mncourts.gov/selfhelp.

The Minnesota Judicial Branch is currently installing public access computer workstations with printers in most courthouses in Minnesota that will provide access to the Virtual Self-Help Center, which includes email support available via a “Contact Us” link on the website. Phone service that connects the user to a court support person is being phased in and is currently available at workstations in 57 counties.

The Virtual Self-Help Center provides legal information, court forms, lawyer referral resources, tutorials, and videos on various legal actions, including divorce, child support, child custody, landlord-tenant disputes, and car title issues. 

The Finnegan award, now in its 20th year, is presented annually to honor a Minnesotan or Minnesota institution whose work demonstrates leadership and commitment to the power of information to effect change.  The award is named in honor of the former editor of the St. Paul Pioneer Press for his lifelong commitment to openness in government and the public’s right to know.