Am I not allowed to represent myself in court?

jalopeen66

Hi,

Recently I was in court with the father of my child over access and maintenance. I employed a solicitor as did the father and an agreement was drawn up with the judge that the father is to pay me 40 euro a week maintenance and in turn gets to see the child every weekend. The case has been adjourned to April, both of us have to go back then and maintenance and access will be reviewed.

I went to see my solicitor today to pay him and tell him I cant afford to avail of his services any longer. He told me that I either apply for legal aid or pay for a solicitor myself as I am not allowed to represent myself in court in April.

Is this true? Do I not have the right to represent myself in court?

j4m

The court recognises the rights of an individual to represent themselves without legal representation. The court will refer to you as a lay litigant. My family are taking a case as lay litigants, so we can verify that it is possible and the court cannot refuse to hear you if you have no legal representation. Think of the programme Judge Judy, where ordinary individuals represent themselves before the Judge. The Irish Courts are no different. If you can't afford a solicitor you can't and Court Services and the Courts website has alot of information to help assist.

Tom Young

Sorry do not think of it as a judge judy item at all. The Irish courts are far, far, far from that and the judiciary expect certain norms in court.

The previous poster is correct in that you can represent yourself.

I would not advise it, nor would I advise going into something without getting someone to chat through the legislation and orders you face. There are services such as FLAC available use them.

To a certain extent your original solicitor is right in relation to what you mention above.

Tom

Jev/N

j4m wrote: »

Think of the programme Judge Judy, where ordinary individuals represent themselves before the Judge.

Judge Judy is a totally different story to District Court or Family/Children's Court cases!

j4m

Apologies, my reference to Judge Judy appears to have been misunderstood. I referred to the programme because she is a real judge with real cases and I was offering proof that a person can represent themselves before the courts. When a lay person is told by a member of the legal profession that they cannot represent themselves in court, the lay person will usually believe the legal advice given to them and will not question it. I would have asked the solicitor where the law states I could not represent myself (proof).

I wanted to make clear that the Courts do not deny lay people the right to represent themselves. Only you can make the decision whether or not you have the capability to represent yourself. A fair and just Judge will speak plainly to you and explain matters so that you can understand.

Tom Young

Fair enough - your initial post could be construed as a comparison, which is far from accurate.

In serious issues - liberty, family etc. I'd be more inclined to try and get advice, even if you can agree a payment plan with a lawyer or get FLAC. If you don't get what's going on sometimes it will go badly against you.

Tom