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People representing themselves puts strain on Mecklenburg County court system

MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. — More people are taking their cases to court without attorneys, and it’s putting a strain on the system, Mecklenburg County court officials said.

Mecklenburg is the only county in the state with an office that helps people file cases on their own.

[LINK: Mecklenburg County Self-Serve Center]

Channel 9 spoke to Jose Atencio, who went to the self-serve office at the courthouse to file for an absolute divorce. He said it was cheaper than getting a lawyer.

“There’s an orientation that’s going to take place in a few minutes, so it’s free, there’s no cost, so yeah, it’s good,” Atencio said.

Atencio is one of 11,000 people who used the self-serve office last year, officials said.

The problem is that there’s only enough money to keep the office open for a half-day, from 8:30 a.m. – noon, and Darwin Rice is its only paid employee.

“I have two notaries that volunteer their time to come here. Everyone else is interns or volunteers,” Rice said.

Without someone to help people navigate the courtroom, the do-it-yourself cases can slow down the whole court system.

“When they get into a courtroom, they’re not necessarily sure what they’re doing, so those hearings take much longer,” said trial court administrator Todd Nuccio.

It’s one reason that Nuccio is asking lawmakers to fund a full-time position in the self-serve office as part of a budget request for this legislative session.

“We want to provide them with the tools, we want to provide them with the access, but we need to have the resources to do that,” Nuccio said.

Nuccio and his staff laid out their request for local lawmakers earlier this month, and said they received positive feedback. But Nuccio said the real battle to expand the program may come in Raleigh, where they will try to convince lawmakers that keeping the cost of justice affordable is worth the cost

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