PARENT'S RIGHTS NOW!

Margery A. Gibbs, Associated Press Writer reports More Americans serving as their own lawyers. According to the article, "The trend has resulted in court systems clogged with filings from people unfamiliar with legal procedure. Moreover, some of these pro se litigants, as they are known, are making mistakes with expensive and long-lasting consequences perhaps confirming the old saying that he who represents himself has a fool for a client."

Based on our personal experiences, we have no doubt that the South Carolina Family Court System is "clogged." Nor do we doubt that expensive and long-lasting consequences" can result from unfamiliarity with substantive and procedural Law. However, we believe that many of the mistakes made in Magistrate's Court result from the ignorance of the Magistrates, who are not required to be lawyers, and unscrupulous prosecutors who prefer to get convictions without regard to whether Justice is served. Furthermore, we believe that the Family Courts are clogged as a result of a combination of too little court-time, too many continuances being granted, too few judges, and too few alternatives to trial being available.