Unrepresented

A revelatory account of how US civil courts ensnare everyday Americans and a promising vision for ending this injustice

Every year, one in seventeen Americans finds themselves in court without legal representation. These are ordinary people who owe medical debt, are facing eviction, or are fighting for custody of their children. They face off against powerful corporations, banks, and even our own government in civil courts, without anyone to help them navigate a system built by lawyers, for lawyers.

In Unrepresented, Colleen F. Shanahan exposes the unjust reality of America’s sprawling civil court system by telling the stories of those who experience it, from a mother of four with staggering child support debt to a day-care teacher contesting eviction by a corporate landlord. Drawing on more than two decades of legal practice and scholarship, Shanahan shows just how challenging it is for average citizens to appear unrepresented in court. And she reveals the harm these courts cause, not only in the lives of those on trial, but in their families and communities as well. Unrepresented sheds light on a deeply inequitable part of our justice system and outlines changes, big and small, that can transfer power back to the people.