Self-Represented Litigants
SELF-REPRESENTED LITIGANTS
The information and materials included here will allow you to consider the duties and obligations you will assume if you choose to represent yourself in court. While District Court staff may provide information helpful in the handling of your case, court staff are prohibited by law from giving legal advice:
K.S.A. 20-3133. Clerks and deputies of district court; prohibited conduct. It shall be unlawful for clerks of the district court or any of their deputies to write any petition or answer or other pleadings in any proceedings, or perform any service as an attorney or counselor at law in any cases or cases pending in the court in which they are either clerk or deputy, or be interested in any profits or emoluments arising out of any practice in the courts of which they are either clerk or deputy, except costs.
District Court staff will strive to provide you the best assistance possible, but may not be able to answer all your questions, especially if they involve legal advice.
Legal advice may mean anything from advising you what forms you need, to answering questions about how to fill them out, what information is required on them or predicting any outcome. Court personnel also have ethical obligations to provide fair and equal treatment to all citizens and cannot provide special or favored treatment to one party over the other. When seeking assistance from court staff, some citizens may not understand that although staff may know the answers to your questions, it would be either illegal or unethical to provide such answers.
The following is a list of resources that may assist you in understanding your duties and obligations in representing yourself before the District Court. Please click on the links associated with each resource for additional information.
Risks and Responsibilities of Self-Representation
