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LOGAN, Utah (AP) -- Utah's court system has expanded its Self-Help Center program to the 1st Judicial District.
The district covers Box Elder, Cache and Rich counties.
Residents can access a variety of legal resources online, by phone, text or e-mail to help them better understand and prepare for self-representation.
Self-Help Center Director Mary Jane Ciccarello told The Herald-Journal the program was created in 2007 in response to a growing number of court patrons who didn't hire legal counsel and lacked an understanding of the legal process and how to navigate the associated paperwork.
In a 2005 study, 97 percent of the more than 56,000 respondents in debt collection cases were self-represented and 81 percent of more than 12,000 divorce respondents were self-represented.
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