Self-help law center
How the courts work
How can court staff help?
Court staff can provide information that can be helpful in the handling of your case. However, court staff cannot provide legal advice, which limits the type of information that can be given. Court staff must follow guidelines established by the Supreme Court Rule 70.41 
.
- Provide public information contained in any of the following:
- Dockets or calendars
- Case files
- Indexes
- Existing reports
- Provide a copy of, or recite, any of the following:
- Common, routinely employed state and local court rules
- Common, routinely employed court procedures
- Common, routinely employed applicable fees and costs
- Advise an individual where to find statutes and rules, without advising whether a particular statute or rule is applicable
- Identify and provide applicable forms and written instructions without providing advice or recommendations as to any specific course of action
- Answer questions about how to complete forms, such as where to write in particular types of information, but not questions about how the individual should phrase his or her responses on the forms
- Define terms commonly used in court processes
- Provide phone numbers for lawyer referral services, local attorney rosters, or other assistance services, such as Internet resources, known to the court staff
- Provide appropriate aids and services for individuals with disabilities to the extent required by the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, 42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.
- Provide legal advice or recommend a specific course of action for an individual
- Apply the law to the facts of a given case, or give directions regarding how an individual should respond or behave in any aspect of the legal process
- Recommend whether to file a petition or other pleading
- Recommend phrasing for or specific content of pleadings
- Fill in a form, unless required by ADA
- Recommend specific people against whom to file petitions or other pleadings
- Recommend specific types of claims or arguments to assert in pleadings or at trial
- Recommend what types or amount of damages to seek or the specific individuals from whom to seek damages
- Recommend specific questions to ask witnesses or litigants
- Recommend specific techniques for presenting evidence in pleadings or at trial
- Recommend which objections to raise regarding an opponent's pleadings or motions at trial or when and how to raise them
- Recommend when or whether an individual should request or oppose an adjournment
- Recommend when or whether an individual should settle a dispute
- Recommend whether an individual should appeal a judge's decision
- Interpret the meaning or implications of statutes or appellate court decisions as they might apply to an individual case
- Perform legal research