II

Literacy and Legal Literacy

Literacy is the ability to use "printed and written information to function in society, to achieve one's goals, and to develop one's knowledge and potential"². In recent years, the focus of literacy has changed from an emphasis on levels of schooling to a focus on functional skills.

Therefore, in the courtroom, literacy is the ability to use printed and written information to function in the courts and to achieve one's goals related to the justice system. Even if a person is literate enough to deal with daily routines, he or she may not be literate enough to understand the language and procedures in court.

Laird Hunter, in Reading the Legal World suggests the following ideal operational definition of legal literacy.

"People using the legal system must be able to guide themselves through a process that they understand [...] and, at appropriate places along the way,

• recognize they have a legal right or responsibility, in order to exercise or assume it;
• recognize when a problem or conflict is a legal conflict and when a legal solution is available;