“Out of every hundred men, ten shouldn’t be there, eighty are just targets, nine are the real fighters, and we are lucky to have them, for they make the battle. Ah, but the one, one is a warrior, and he will bring the others back.”
-Heraclitus, Greek philosopher 495 BC
This post is integrated into the 2021-12-15 Revolution Radio program (audio) here:
The pro se
From Black’s Law we see pro se[1] is Latin. When used as an adverb or adjective it means for oneself; on one’s own behalf; without a lawyer, as in, “the defendant proceeded pro se.”
Black’s also distinguishes its use as a noun. This is simply the self-represented in a court proceeding, without the assistance of a lawyer as in, “the third case on the court’s docket involving a pro se.”
Some people feel a self-represented litigant should avoid the term pro se, preferring the adverbs or adjectives pro persona; in propria persona; propria persona; pro per. Often you will see they misuse the Latin noun pro per—self-represented litigant.
Contrary to the beliefs of some, there is no special status found in claiming one is more appropriately identified by a certain Latin term as pro per or in propria persona.
Can you imagine the silliness of an appellate court ruling that the trial court erred by ruling for the Plaintiff because the homeowner appeared in propria persona—even though the homeowner did not make his payments?
An 800-pound gorilla will not eat you
We have all heard 800-pound gorilla clichés. This beast is the largest anthropoid ape and his ‘hood’ is the forests of central West Africa.
Most gorilla violence is directed toward other gorillas—not humans. This means that if an unruly gorilla was to beat the daylights out of you, you can find comfort in the fact that gorillas are vegetarians.
In the wild or a cage fight—pun intended—I would put my money on the big monkey. He has home-court advantage.
Speaking of a cage fight, we have all heard the expression, “you can’t fight city hall.”
Just as the gorilla evolved into a vegetarian badass over eons, so has City Hall. Well, maybe not eons, but certainly for centuries.
The typical unit of government, whether municipal, county, state, or federal has evolved in its own way. Ever so slowly, these entities have drafted and adopted rules and laws to control the unwashed.
Each time someone with intelligence or a criminal mind finds a way around a rule or law, a new rule, law, or regulation patches the legal breach.
The accumulation of rules and law slowly morphs into an orderly but massive Death Star. Resistance is futile.
Remember lions, gorillas, and creatures of the dark rule the jungle. They have an interdependent existence; so too for the legal entities of our modern society.
The 8,000-pound hydra will eat you
Many view the collective of banks, legislature, courts, and law enforcement as an 8,000-pound hydra[2]. Each has centuries of cobbled rules and laws that are inextricably intertwined with the other.
You get to meet this hydra if you are a defendant in a foreclosure. Some of its other heads are the foreclosing law firm, process server, the Holder of your Note, and perhaps a Trustee.
This nine-headed hydra—multi-entity consortium—works in synchrony to separate you from your home. Because the beast is so large, it is lazy and expends the smallest amount of effort. It uses its sheer weight to crush its opponents.
Rumor has it that the only reason many judicial foreclosures drag on in the court is that the attorneys are milking their clients. Who would have thunk?
The foreclosure landscape is a war zone
This hydra’s collective mission is to foreclose on so-called deadbeats across this vast nation. Even though the campaign is nationwide, the machine singles out individual homeowners with tactical strikes in the courts.
With military precision the barrage starts, pounding on isolated homeowners holed up in their residences.
In desperation, these homeowners knowing they are in a battle seek battlefield intelligence on the Internet. They find a chaotic collage of information ranging from downright crazy to theoretical pontification by legal intellectuals.
Next, these homeowners contact foreclosure defense attorneys, only to find that many of them charge large upfront fees and monthly payments for the duration. A little research shows that even the famous attorneys rarely win their cases[3].
Once the homeowner realizes no reinforcements are coming, they often seek others similarly situated and band into small groups, aiding each other like insurgents[4] in an occupied territory sharing tips and advice.
The pro se guerrilla
A guerrilla[5] is a member of an irregular armed force that fights a stronger force by sabotage and harassment. And from Black’s we see Guerrilla warfare[6] as “hostilities that are conducted by individuals or small groups who are usually not part of an organized army and who fight by means of surprise attacks, ambushes, and sabotage.” Now while you might think this is a little extreme, Black’s defines warfare[7] as “Loosely, the act of engaging in any type of conflict.”
It is not a stretch to see the pro se is engaged in a form of guerrilla warfare given the seriousness of the pro se’s motive and mission.
Many pro se guerrillas think they are engaged in lawfare[8], but they rarely have the skills necessary to carry out complex legal maneuvers.
Generally, they make evasive moves to confound the plaintiff and courts in an effort to tie up the legal system and stay in their home. Most pro se efforts are amateurish and fail to see the big picture. Typically their efforts are directed towards low-value targets.
I believe many pro ses have the ability to hamstring[9] the bank/plaintiff with a detailed case analysis and careful planning. Real guerrillas conduct a comprehensive SWOT Analysis[10] leaving nothing to chance. They assess themselves, their tools, abilities, and resources. They also study their opponents and the landscape.
The typical pro se is reactive, evasive, fear-based, and hides—they are not warriors.
Guerrillas are not evasive—they STRIKE, intelligently.
Again to quote Heraclitus, “Out of every hundred men, ten shouldn’t be there, eighty are just targets, nine are the real fighters, and we are lucky to have them, for they make the battle. Ah, but the one, one is a warrior, and he will bring the others back.”
Although pro ses may train together, they fight alone in the arena and cannot, “bring the others back.”
Their legally embroiled brothers and sisters get to rejoice and lionize in the battle victories of others, but each fights alone against the hydra.
The question is; are you fighting a foreclosure as if it is a video-game, fooling yourself and others about what a great warrior you are? Have you searched your soul and done a comprehensive SWOT analysis?
Guerillas train to fight the hydra. “The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war, as the saying goes.”[11]
Do you have what it takes to be a pro se guerrilla?
Many confuse a willingness to fight with being a pro se guerrilla warrior.
2018-01-01 Bill Johnson
[1] Pro se: adv. & adj. [Latin] For oneself; on one’s own behalf; without a lawyer <the defendant proceeded pro se> <a pro se defendant>. Also termed pro persona; in propria persona; propria persona; pro per.
Pro se: n. One who represents oneself in a court proceeding without the assistance of a lawyer <the third case on the court’s docket involving a pro se>. Also termed pro per; self-represented litigant. (Black’s Law 9th Ed.)
[2] Hydra: (Greek mythology) monster with nine heads; when struck off each head was replaced by two new ones. (WordWeb Pro.)
[3] Here is another little secret; you cannot ‘win’ their foreclosure. You can defeat it or tie. You cannot ‘win’ their lawsuit. They have to prove their complaint or go away. This is not a real win. By tie, I mean settle on mutually agreeable terms. This can be extra cash or time in a “cash for keys” or a modification with favorable terms.
[4] Insurgent n.: A person who takes part in an armed rebellion against the constituted authority (especially in the hope of improving conditions). insurgents
[5] Guerrilla: n. A member of an irregular armed force that fights a stronger force by sabotage and harassment. (WordWeb Pro.)
[6] Guerrilla warfare: Hostilities that are conducted by individuals or small groups who are usu. not part of an organized army and who fight by means of surprise attacks, ambushes, and sabotage .(Black’s Law 9th Ed.)
[7] Warfare. 1. The act of engaging in war or military conflict. See WAR. [Cases: War and National Emergency 2. Loosely, the act of engaging in any type of conflict. (Black’s Law 9th Ed.)
[8] Lawfare is a form of asymmetric warfare, consisting of using the legal system against an enemy, such as by damaging or delegitimizing them, tying up their time or winning a public relations victory. The word is a portmanteau of the words law and warfare. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawfare.)
[9] Hamstring n.: 2. (in a horse, etc.) the large tendon at the back of the knee or hock of the hind leg.
Hamstring v.: 1. To lame by cutting the hamstring. (WordWeb Pro.)
[10] https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0b/SWOT_en.svg/440px-SWOT_en.svg.png
[11] Bracken, Matthew. The Red Cliffs of Zerhoun (Kindle Locations 1546-1547). Steelcuttere Publishing Inc.. Kindle Edition.