Courthouse Provides Web-Based Information For Those Without Lawyers
MARKHAM, Ill. (CBS) -- An Internet-based self-help center has been set up at the Markham Courthouse to provide more resources to people who want to represent themselves in court.
As WBBM Newsradio's Bernie Tafoya reports, the Self-Help Web Center for People without Lawyers is designed to give poor people a shot at representing themselves, and take up less court time with judges having to explain the law to people acting as their own lawyers.
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Right now, the center is only open at the courthouse in Markham, where cases from the south suburbs within in Cook County are heard.
"I have seen the growth in the number of people coming here who need the help, and can't afford an attorney," said Kendra Reinshagen of the Legal Aid Society. "As the economy went south, we saw more and more people flooding in with less and less resources to protect their rights.
Cook County Circuit Court Chief Judge Timothy Evans hopes to expand the self-help center to the Daley Center and other suburban courthouses in the next several months.
