So we’re all here in one space, many of us being with each other for a while now, and perhaps we all have developed genuine friendships along the way. The one thing that binds us together remains: that the government, the state, or its affiliate agencies have done something wrong to us, and we are seeking justice for suffering from their shortcomings.

As humans, we are all programmed to be rather emotional. There is no such thing as a person without emotion – just that we are either letting it run wild and take over our actions and decisions, or we keep it in check and silence our turmoil.

Emotions are good because these are how we know how we truly feel. But if we allow our emotions to determine what we do, this often doesn’t turn out well – and this is especially true when it comes to legal pursuits.

All of us here at Save Our Children are here together because none of us can go at it alone – we’re up against the US government after all, which is as tough as it gets. Being part of a class action against the government is no small undertaking. You simply can’t be a passive observer if you want to achieve the justice that you seek.

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In a recent Zoom meeting, Save Our Children Truth Commission Executive Director Melody Janelle spoke emphatically about the importance of taking concrete steps to move a case along – especially if you’re an individual who is included in a class suit.

How motions work

“Whether it’s about you wanting to be recognized as a plaintiff, bringing in evidence, or making some form of request, it all starts with a motion. In legal speak, a motion is a written request to the judge that asks for a ruling on some issue in an already filed case.”

– Marcus White (Communications Specialist at Save Our Children)

You can surely see the judicial system proceeding naturally and observe how it flows with a certain logic that ensures that justice will come to you. But it also behaves rather reactively. It needs a stimulus that moves it to act in the way that you want, and so the burden of taking prior action is certainly upon your shoulders, too.

A motion should be clearly written, and depending on what your circumstances are and what the motion is about, there will be specific requirements that you will have to fulfill. Some of us are quite intense when we do our writing, abundantly expressing our emotions and how we feel about a certain injustice done unto us. In doing this, many among us have had our motions denied by the judge – and for good reason.

The fact remains that the justice system will always view information with an objective lens. Justice has to be kept alive by a certain order of things that will make the journey toward resolution begin. Our role as plaintiffs is to kickstart it with the proper tools.

Errors in intervention

It’s very common in class action suits to see that some of us get wind of an interesting case when it has already been established. Those of us who strongly feel that we have all the best reasons to be named as additional plaintiffs sometimes end up doing nothing. We lose sight of the fact that we need to turn all of that emotion into action and write a motion for intervention – which is just the first step to including our names in the list of plaintiffs.

There may be instances when we feel that we want to include an additional person or entity as one of the defendants in the case, because we’re so sure that said entity is at fault. But then what we should realize is in doing so, it may cause delays and harm the chances of the suit concluding in favor of the class.

The fact is, the court must always consider whether the intervention will unduly delay or prejudice the adjudication of the original parties’ rights. This means that if we desperately want to nail another bad guy by officially including him in the list, we might be better off by deciding to just catch him the next time around and instead let the case proceed as it already is taking its course.

If you’re a mother fighting for the custody of your children and you want the government to award you with damages for the suffering you’ve endured, you may be facing two possibilities.

1. You let things proceed in your already existing case and reunite with your children and get compensated in the span of a few months or;

2. Have every government entity you want sued by including them in the list of plaintiffs and get your children and compensation in a year or two 

Somehow, the first option is the more sensible one. Besides, you can come after the government entity you missed by joining the next class suit. You’ll never run out of people whom you can team up with against government injustice.

Becoming your own attorney

Being part of a class suit, you’re certainly not alone. But since all of the testimonies and pieces of evidence will be coming from your fold, you simply can’t afford not do the work. Your attorney can’t do all of the work for you either. Your best bet is to become your own attorney.

What we strongly warn you against is the practice of talking amongst yourselves within the class, without taking any concrete action. You can cry or be angry and even bond over the misfortunes that the government is causing you, but if you don’t turn these into motions and other legal documents, you’re nothing more than an echo chamber.

Instead, what you can do is educate yourselves so that you have more knowledge that could help you win the case. Understand your rights and how the legal system works. Read and analyze all legal documents that are handed to you.  Familiarize yourself with the administrative processes that you’ll need to go through.

Most of all, ask questions when there’s something that you don’t understand. Remember that you have other individuals like yourself who are joining the class suit just like you – you virtually have a team that you can compare notes and share your questions with. You have a forum on the Save Our Children website where you can pitch a question, which others can see and learn from, too.

There’s so much you can do by being your own attorney. Just by looking at the rewards you can enjoy by winning the case, you’ll instantly realize that all the effort is worth it.