Inequality Inquiry >> Date

The Surge of Pro Se Plaintiffs

February 5, 2026

By: Krista Colbert View/Download PDF Version: The Surge of Pro Se Plaintiffs (Colbert) For millions of Americans, the decision to proceed pro se (self-representation) is not ideological or strategic—it is economic. The justice gap reflects a systemic failure of the United States legal system to provide equal justice under the law. Nowhere is this failure…

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In Defense of Anger: Reason, Morality, and the Law

February 19, 2026

By: Lubasha Heredia View/Download PDF Version: In Defense of Anger: Reason, Morality, and the Law (Heredia)   Anger occupies an uneasy place in legal discourse. Courts, commentators, and officials routinely valorize calm, neutrality, and restraint, while framing anger as irrational, destabilizing, or corrosive to reasoned judgment. Our legal culture emphasizes objectivity, neutrality, and formal legal…

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In re Benson, A Year Later

February 23, 2026

By: Claire Girod View/Download PDF Version: In re Benson, A Year Later (Girod) In October 2024, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled on Matter of Commitment of Benson, holding that those subject to civil commitment have a right to waive counsel. The Minnesota Commitment and Treatment Act (MCTA) provides a statutory right to counsel for those…

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