Where does an unrepresented litigant go for help?

Since 2013, Rochester’s Hall of Justice has been home to the Seventh Judicial District Help Center – the perfect place for pro se litigants to get guidance. 

In 2014, the Seventh Judicial District Help Center served 1,951 unrepresented litigants, according to Scott MacPherson, VLSP attorney currently overseeing the Help Center.

That’s about double the traffic the Center had in 2013. It represents a pretty busy year when you also consider that the Help Center is only open 22 hours a week, with hours 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, and afternoon hours 1:00-4:00 Monday through Thursday.

“I have been very impressed with every volunteer’s willingness to take on questions that may be outside of their legal expertise and comfort zone,” MacPherson said.

“One interesting call from an unrepresented litigant is especially noteworthy,” he continued. “The client was trying to research court cases on a specific topic and asked about one particular court opinion they had trouble understanding. The volunteer who answered the call was the Hon. Patricia Marks, and it happened to be an opinion she wrote. She was able to refer the caller to other pertinent research that would clarify the decision.”

Attorneys, paralegals, and law students are welcome to volunteer. There are 1.5 hour afternoon shifts and 2.0 hour morning shifts. Give Scott a call (585) 295-5712 or email at smacpherson@vlsprochester.org.

Last summer, Joseph Dudek, a student at Columbia Law School, used his strong organizational skills to establish a set of forms in Google Docs and provided access to the documents via Google Drive from any computer connected to the internet. Materials were assembled into the chronology of a case (filing complaint, answering complaint, pretrial motions, etc.) and physical copies are also available in racks behind the Help Center desk.

In addition, Dudek helped clients during his VLSP internship, noting how it expanded his knowledge of New York law.

“Every client question tended to involve some segment of New York law regarding marriage, renting, or procedure – the stuff I had not been exposed to at Columbia,” he noted.

By Nora A. Jones.

DAPA, DACA, and high school Spanish

Undocumented immigrants can likely benefit from all three of the above-noted programs.

DAPA (deferred action for parents of Americans and lawful permanent residents) and an expanded DACA (deferred action for childhood arrivals) are the acronyms for two immigration initiatives announced last November by President Obama. Although a district court ruling has stayed implementation, hundreds of local migrant workers are curious about eligibility for these programs which could offer quasi-legal status and work permits to many currently undocumented immigrants.

A series of workshops sponsored by the Legal Aid Society of Rochester is underway, with volunteers from other agencies helping to assess the regional need.

Nishant Srivastava, a student intern at Volunteer Legal Services Project, joined VLSP attorney Vasanthi Pillai at a Saturday workshop in Sodus in February, using his knowledge of high school Spanish to help immigrants fill out a screening questionnaire used as a basic litmus test of eligibility for DAPA or DACA.

Walter Ruehle, LAS director of immigration, indicated there were about 90 people at that first workshop and maybe 70 at the one held in Elba a week later.

“Many of the immigrants I met in Sodus were Spanish-speaking farm workers with various levels of English language skills,” Nishant said. “My Spanish vocabulary may be a bit rusty, but I was able to understand and communicate much better than if I’d taken Latin.”

If the court-imposed temporary injunction is lifted and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services starts accepting applications for DAPA and expanded DACA, Ruehle and Pillai anticipate a strong need for volunteer attorneys. Their assessment from three regional workshops so far indicates many potential applicants will need some assistance, and of those applicants, the majority will be Spanish-speaking laborers with dreams of staying in the U.S.

Sheila Gaddis, VLSP Executive Director, anticipates strong support for this effort from Rochester attorneys.

By Nora A. Jones