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Concept
Poor person
Summary
A poor person is a legal status in many countries in the world that allows an individual to have fair court even if they do not have enough financial savings. If a judge believes that the accused person is without the financial resources to pay the costs of a court action or proceeding, he/she may apply for in forma pauperis (IFP) status. It is a Latin term for "in the manner of a pauper," which describes a litigant who is excused by a court from paying filing fees and court costs because she cannot afford to do so.
Before authorizing a person to proceed in forma pauperis, courts typically require an affidavit that, among other things, discloses the person's assets and income. Although excused from paying court fees and costs, a litigant who is authorized to proceed in forma pauperis still must pay other expenses, such as deposition transcription costs and witness fees.
The Process and Costs of Filing Suit in Equity by given the segmented nature of the legal field in Early Modern England and the fact that litigants had to enlist and pay several legal professionals to participate in the legal system, filing a lawsuit remained costly. Moreover, litigation in equity courts was more expensive than in the common law courts as trials proceeded via written pleadings, rather than solely through oral argument. The in forma pauperis procedure provided an alternative to these costs for those who managed to draw its benefit. Lawsuits followed a series of procedural steps in courts of equity, with pleadings going back and forth between the parties. Each step imposed an additional cost on the litigant (around £4, or approximately $1401 today) and a plethora of fees for pleadings, copying documents, summons, joinder, discovery, or collection of evidence. Despite the incomplete evidence that remains on legal costs in Early Modern England, the surviving accounts reveal that normal litigation was a relatively expensive undertaking. As a result, only gentry, merchants, and artisans could afford to pursue lawsuits on a whim.
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