Paragraph: (Society_Law_and_Justice/oanc-Free_Legal_Assistance-0.txt)
Sent 1: When single father Thurman Williams needed help filling out papers in a custody suit recently, he didn't look to his lawyer for help.
Sent 2: He walked to a computerized kiosk at the Lamoreaux Justice Center in Orange and started tapping the keys.
Sent 3: As part of a legal experiment, litigants without lawyers across California are using computerized video kiosks to prepare common court filings and seek basic legal advice.
Sent 4: The kiosk used by Williams is part of a statewide effort to cope with a flood of litigants who cannot afford or refuse to hire lawyers.
Sent 5: Court officials statewide fear the number of self-represented litigants has reached crisis levels and threatens to clog court calendars.
Sent 6: Like Williams, more than 6,000 Orange County litigants have initiated court actions on I-CAN!
Sent 7: kiosks or accessed the programs on the Internet, using home computers.
Sent 8: Similar programs are operating in Sacramento, San Diego and Ventura.
Sent 9: A recent study of the kiosks' first 18 months of operation concluded it is too soon to tell if the system will relieve pressure on court calendars.
Sent 10: But the report, by UC Irvine's School of Social Ecology, said users were overwhelmingly positive about the free legal assistance.
Sent 11: "It's made life a lot easier for me," Williams said.
Sent 12: "It's helped keep me from going to the poorhouse."
Sent 13: The 29-year-old Orange resident was directed to a kiosk in the Lamoreaux Justice Center by court staff.
Sent 14: After putting on headphones and following the directions of a videotaped instructor, Williams filled out a quarter-inch stack of paternity and custody documents.
Sent 15: The exercise took 20 minutes; it would have cost him about $800 if he had relied on a lawyer, he said.
Sent 16: "It was a lot easier than I thought."
Sent 17: Whether they can't afford a lawyer or just want to save money, more Californians are going to court without a lawyer.
Sent 18: "I'm just amazed at the numbers," said Commissioner Salvador Sarmiento, who hears between 40 and 90 child-support cases a day in Lamoreaux Justice Center.