I arrived in the District of Columbia in December of 2006, and I have filed more than 20 cases at the DC Superior Court, the DC Court of Appeals, and the District Court for the District of Columbia since then. Because my revenue is below the poverty level, the filing fees and associated costs of filing those cases, an amount of about $12,000, have been waived.
In each instance, the judge hearing the case granted me pro se status, which enabled me to represent myself. The cases were then assigned to another judge, who would dismiss the cases without notifying the defendant or requesting a response from the defendant. I would then file a notice of appeal and appellant’s briefs requesting oral argument. In 2008, the DC Court of Appeals issued an order requesting a lower court’s opinion in Hickman v. Department of Commerce in an attempt to correct the complaint. And now, six years later, after filing several suits, Hickman v. Federal Election Commission (FEC), before Federal District Court Judge Howell, has finally received a response from the defendant.
I do not agree that someone representing himself pro se has a fool for a client and should have to wait to be addressed; the court system should not have forced me to wait six years to get a response from the defendant. Would I have had a faster, better response or a different ruling if I had been represented by counsel?
I want to thank the DC court system for their long-awaited action. The system finally served the defendants and required a response. The response was to move the case to the federal district court.
