PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE

SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT

John Adams Courthouse

One Pemberton Square

Boston, Massachusetts 02108

CONTACT:

Jennifer Donahue/Erika Gully-Santiago

PublicInfo@sjc.state.ma.us  

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 12, 2025

Supreme Judicial Court Issues New Judicial Guidelines for Civil Cases with Self-Represented Litigants

BOSTON, MA -- The Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) today issued new Judicial Guidelines for Civil Cases with Self-Represented Litigants (2025 Edition) to assist judges in working with the many litigants who do not have an attorney to represent them. 

“These new Guidelines provide important guidance to judges concerning the kinds of steps that they can and should take, without violating their obligation of impartiality, to ensure that cases involving self-represented litigants are fairly heard,” said SJC Chief Justice Kimberly S. Budd. “I would like to thank the members of the committee that drafted the Guidelines for their dedication to this project.” 

In contrast with criminal cases, in most civil cases litigants who cannot afford an attorney do not have a right to appointed counsel. While some of these litigants may be able to obtain representation from legal aid attorneys or pro bono counsel, many must represent themselves. Consequently, in certain civil case types 80 percent or more of the cases involve at least one self-represented litigant.

The new Guidelines update and supersede the Judicial Guidelines for Civil Hearings Involving Self-Represented Litigants that were previously issued in 2006. The new Guidelines take into account developments since that time, including the adoption of a new 2016 Massachusetts Code of Judicial Conduct that includes specific provisions concerning accommodations for self-represented litigants; appellate decisions involving issues relating to self-representation; the emergence of nationally recognized best practices for judges in cases with self-represented litigants; the development of new technologies; and the expansion of court initiatives and resources to support the diverse and growing population that comes to court without lawyers. 

The new Guidelines were developed by a committee appointed by the SJC in 2021 that consisted of judges from the Appeals Court and each of the Trial Court departments, working with the support of two retired judges who served as advisors and staff attorneys at the SJC and the Executive Office of the Trial Court.

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