Duty of the court to self-represented litigants

Summary

In a recent Ontario Court of Appeal case, the court discussed the duties judges have when hearing cases with self-represented litigants to ensure a fair hearing. The court said judges can ask litigants to summarize their perspective of the case, allow them to provide oral evidence, help them provide relevant information through directed questions, while being careful not to cross into advocacy. The court also said self-represented litigants have a duty to learn the relevant rules, procedures and laws. Opposing counsel also has duties in these cases. Overall, judges, self-represented litigants and counsel all have certain duties to help ensure a fair legal process.

Takeaways

• 😀 The video discusses the duties of the court when hearing cases with self-represented parties
• 😃 A recent case called Grand River v. Rambus addressed this issue
• 😄 Judges can ask self-represented litigants to explain their perspective on the case
• 😁 Judges may allow self-represented litigants to provide oral evidence and be cross-examined
• 😆 Judges can help guide self-represented litigants to provide relevant information, but cannot advocate
• 😎 Self-represented litigants must know court rules, procedures and applicable law
• 😏 Opposing counsel also has duties in cases with self-represented litigants
• 🧐 Judges must remain impartial and cannot favor one side
• 🤓 Self-represented litigants should check the video description for useful links
• 😊 The hosts thank viewers and invite them to subscribe for more content

Q & A

What was the recent court case that discussed the duties of the court when self-represented parties are involved?

The recent court case was called Grand River versus Rambus in the Ontario Court of Appeal.

What are some things judges can do to ensure self-represented litigants have a fair hearing?

Judges can ask the litigant where they think the litigation is at to get their perspective, allow them to provide oral evidence, help them provide relevant information through directed questions, while still remaining impartial.

What duties do self-represented litigants have?

Self-represented litigants need to familiarize themselves with the rules, procedures and applicable law of the court so they can properly prepare and present their case.

Why can't judges be biased towards or against a self-represented litigant?

Judges have to remain impartial in all cases to ensure fairness and justice.

What rules should self-represented litigants know that apply to court hearings and proceedings?

Self-represented litigants should know the procedural rules like the rules of civil procedure that govern how hearings and court proceedings are conducted.

What resources are mentioned that can help self-represented litigants?

Litigation Help has guides and templates to help self-represented litigants fill out civil motion court forms.

Why should self-represented litigants not expect to be able to provide oral evidence in every case?

Judges allowing self-represented litigants to provide oral evidence is not a guaranteed right, it is done at the judge's discretion when they feel it would help the specific case.

What duties do opposing counsel have towards self-represented litigants?

The video does not provide details on duties of opposing counsel, but implies they should also ensure fairness.

Where can you find additional resources mentioned in the video?

There are links provided in the description box of the video for excerpts and other resources referenced.

What steps can you take if you want to be notified of upcoming videos on this channel?

You can subscribe to the channel and hit the bell icon to be notified of new videos.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Duties of the Court for Self-Represented Parties

Heather Herrerton and Heather Douglas from Navigation Health discuss the duties of the court when handling cases involving self-represented parties, referencing a recent Ontario Court of Appeal case, Grand River vs. Rambus. They highlight the importance of the court's role in ensuring a fair hearing for self-represented litigants by asking them to express their view of the case, allowing for oral evidence when beneficial, and guiding them to provide relevant information without crossing into advocacy. Additionally, they emphasize the responsibilities of self-represented individuals to familiarize themselves with court rules, procedures, and applicable laws. The segment also touches on the impartiality required of judges and the duties of opposing counsel, concluding with a reminder to check out their shop for guides and templates designed to assist self-represented litigants.

Keywords

💡self-represented litigant

A self-represented litigant refers to someone who represents themselves in a legal proceeding without a lawyer. This is a key concept in the video as it discusses the duties courts have when hearing cases with self-represented parties. The script notes judges may allow self-represented litigants to provide oral evidence to help ensure a fair hearing.

💡fair hearing

A fair hearing refers to the right of parties in a legal case to have their matter judicially considered in an unbiased and equitable way. The video examines whether self-represented litigants received fair hearings and discusses duties judges have to facilitate fair hearings.

💡rules of the court

The rules of the court refer to the protocols and procedures that govern how legal cases progress. The script notes self-represented litigants have a duty to familiarize themselves with relevant court rules and procedures.

💡duties of judges

The duties of judges refer to the responsibilities judges have when presiding over and making decisions in legal cases before them. A key discussion point of the video is outlining additional duties judges have in cases with self-represented litigants.

💡oral evidence

Oral evidence refers to verbal testimony given by a witness or party under oath in a legal proceeding. The script notes judges may allow self-represented litigants to provide oral evidence if it would facilitate a fair hearing.

💡adjournment

An adjournment is the postponement of a court hearing to a later date. One issue examined in the referenced case was whether not granting an adjournment deprived a self-represented litigant of a fair hearing.

💡directed questions

Directed questions refer to specific queries from a judge intended to elicit particular information relevant to a legal proceeding. The script advises judges may ask focused questions to assist self-represented litigants in providing pertinent information.

💡opposing counsel

Opposing counsel refers to the lawyer or legal representatives for the opposing party in a legal dispute. The script notes opposing counsel also have duties in cases involving self-represented litigants.

💡cross-examination

Cross-examination refers to the questioning and interrogation of a witness called to give evidence by the opposing party in a trial. The script indicates judges may allow self-represented litigants to be cross-examined if giving oral evidence.

💡bias

Bias refers to an unfair prejudice in favor of or against someone or something. An important duty of judges is to avoid bias against or in favor of self-represented litigants.

Highlights

Judges have a duty to ensure self-represented litigants have a fair hearing

Judges can ask self-represented litigants to explain their perspective on the case

Judges have discretion to allow self-represented litigants to provide oral evidence

Judges can help guide self-represented litigants to provide relevant information

Judges must avoid crossing into advocacy while assisting self-represented litigants

Self-represented litigants must know the applicable rules, procedures and law

Opposing counsel also have duties when dealing with self-represented litigants

Self-represented litigants should familiarize themselves with court rules and procedures

Judges must remain impartial and not show bias for or against self-represented litigants

Resources to help self-represented litigants are linked in the video description

The case discussed was Grand River v. Rambus regarding duties with self-represented litigants

The appeal questioned if an adjournment denial gave the self-represented litigant a fair hearing

The court found the self-represented litigant received a fair hearing in this case

But the court provided guidance on assisting self-represented litigants in other cases

Self-represented litigants should come prepared and know the law and rules applicable to their case

Transcripts

[Music]

hi everyone welcome back to navigation

health my name is heather herrerton and

joining me here is my colleague heather

douglas today we're going to talk about

the duties of the court when they are

hearing the case in front of one or more

self-represented parties

now recently there was a ontario court

of appeal case called grand river versus

rambus in which this was discussed but

before i begin i have a quick

announcement uh litigation help now has

a shop so and heather and i have

prepared guides and templates for civil

motions and for the ontario superior

court so if you're a self wrapping you

would like some help with filling out

these civil motion court forms be sure

to check these out

and the link to access this is in the

description box below

okay so now let's talk about the duties

of the court heather let me start by

asking you maybe just tell us a little

bit about this case

in the case that there it was an appeal

the

one of the individuals involved was a

self-represented litigant and a question

was

one of the questions was was the

adjournment that wasn't granted was that

problematic and did the judge give the

litigant a fair hearing the court

decided there was a fair hearing but in

doing so made a few notes about what

judges can do to also ensure in other

cases that people have a fair hearing

who are self-represented

so one of the things that they can do

is

to ask the litigant where they think the

litigation is at and to give them an

opportunity to tell the court what their

perspective of the lawsuit is

the second thing the judge can do

is in an emotion or an application

allow the self-rep to give

oral evidence viva voce evidence and to

be cross-examined by the other side that

is not required it's if the judge

perceives that that would help the case

in that specific matter so don't go in

expecting that you're going to have that

privilege of giving live evidence an

emotion or application

but if the judge finds that that would

be

the fairest way to handle the case

they are to swear the self wrap in and

then allow the other side to cross

examine after that person has given

their evidence

another thing a judge

can do

is

to kind of help the

self-rep give the relevant information

to the court and maybe by asking some

directed questions

of course the judge has to be careful to

not go too far and veer into advocacy

but in appropriate cases they can make

sure that they have the right

information by asking the relevant

questions

right thanks heather okay so this case

also mentioned that self reps themselves

have some duties can you elaborate a

little bit on that as well yeah so

self-reps they need to familiarize

themselves with the rules of the court

the procedures of the court and the law

that applies to their case so just

because you're self-represented doesn't

mean that you're allowed to come

unprepared to the court you need to know

your case and you need to make sure to

the best of your ability that you know

the law and the rules of the that apply

to your case and the procedures

and the procedures refer to things like

the rules of civil procedure so the

rules that govern how a hearing how a

proceeding should be

right judges have to be impartial so

they cannot be biased for some prep or

against the software for sure

and also i just want to point out here

that um there are also duties for

opposing counsel

um so i'm going to have the links to

these uh various excerpts in the

description box below so don't forget to

check that out um

right so thanks very much thank you

everyone for watching so if you're new

to the channel don't forget to hit the

subscribe button and also hit that bell

so that you'll be notified of our

upcoming videos and we'll see the next

time bye

bye

[Music]