PRO SE LITIGATION

If you wish to start a civil action in federal court, but do not have an attorney to represent you, you may bring your case on your own. This is called "proceeding pro se" which means that you are representing yourself in the Court, and you are called a "pro se litigant."

A civil case, which is the only type of case you can start in federal court, is different from a criminal cases, which can only be started by government officials. In a civil case, you do not have a constitutional right to appointed counsel. Therefore, if you start a civil case pro se, you should be prepared to pursue it to completion on your own because the Court appoints counsel only under certain circumstances that may not be met by your case.

The Court can provide you with certain types of assistance to make it a little easier to bring your case pro se in federal court. Read all of the following pages before you start your case, so that you understand the help the Court can provide and so that you become familiar with the forms the Court can make available to you and the Rules you must follow in the Court.

More Information about Bringing Your Case Pro Se