Opinion ID: 177179
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Special Solicitude

Text: We now turn to the district court's withdrawal of special solicitude. As previously noted, the magistrate judge recommended, and the district court approved, that the special solicitude ordinarily afforded to pro se litigants be withheld from Tracy for the remainder of this action on the ground that Tracy was an experienced litigant. Because it appears that Tracy may not be represented by counsel on remand, the district court's withdrawal of special solicitude presumably will continue to be applicable in further proceedings. Hence, it is necessary for us to consider now whether such withdrawal was appropriate. We note at the outset of this discussion that it applies only to pro se litigants in civil actions, as a variety of additional concerns, not addressed here, may be relevant in the context of criminal proceedings. It is well established that a court is ordinarily obligated to afford a special solicitude to pro se litigants. See Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 106, 97 S.Ct. 285, 50 L.Ed.2d 251 (1976); Triestman v. Fed. Bureau of Prisons, 470 F.3d 471, 474-75 (2d Cir.2006); see also McDonald v. Head Criminal Court Supervisor Officer, 850 F.2d 121, 124 (2d Cir.1988) ([P]ro se litigants may in general deserve more lenient treatment than those represented by counsel.). The rationale underlying this rule is that a pro se litigant generally lacks both legal training and experience and, accordingly, is likely to forfeit important rights through inadvertence if he is not afforded some degree of protection. See Triestman, 470 F.3d at 475. Somewhat unsurprisingly, then, district courts within this Circuit have developed a practice of withdrawing this solicitude if a pro se litigant is deemed to have become generally experienced in litigation through participation in a large number of previous legal actions. See Zimmerman v. Burge, No. 06-cv-0176, 2008 WL 850677, at - (N.D.N.Y. Mar. 28, 2008) (collecting cases); Edwards v. Selsky, No. 9:04-cv-1054, 2007 WL 748442, at - (N.D.N.Y. Mar.6, 2007) (same). We have occasionally endorsed some limited forms of this practice, see, e.g., Davidson v. Flynn, 32 F.3d 27, 31 (2d Cir.1994) (denying a pro se plaintiff an opportunity to replead on the ground that he was an extremely litigious inmate who [wa]s quite familiar with the legal system and with pleading requirements), and have recently suggested that it may be appropriate to charge a pro se litigant with knowledge of, and therefore withdraw special status in relation to, particular requirements [of the legal system] with which he is familiar as a result of his extensive prior experience in the courts. Sledge v. Kooi, 564 F.3d 105, 109 (2d Cir. 2009). At the same time, however, we have also recently expressed, albeit in dicta, our concern that the general withdrawal of solicitude may impose unreasonable burdens on pro se litigants in some circumstances. See id. The solicitude afforded to pro se litigants takes a variety of forms. It most often consists of liberal construction of pleadings, motion papers, and appellate briefs. See Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 94, 127 S.Ct. 2197, 167 L.Ed.2d 1081 (2007) (per curiam); In re Sims, 534 F.3d 117, 133 (2d Cir.2008); Bertin v. United States, 478 F.3d 489, 491 (2d Cir.2007). It is not, however, limited to this specific procedural setting. Rather, it also embraces relaxation of the limitations on the amendment of pleadings, see Holmes v. Goldin, 615 F.2d 83, 85 (2d Cir.1980) (A pro se plaintiff ... should be afforded an opportunity fairly freely to amend his complaint.), leniency in the enforcement of other procedural rules, see LeSane v. Hall's Sec. Analyst, Inc., 239 F.3d 206, 209 (2d Cir.2001) ([P]ro se plaintiffs should be granted special leniency regarding procedural matters.); Enron Oil Corp. v. Diakuhara, 10 F.3d 90, 96 (2d Cir.1993) (A party appearing without counsel is afforded extra leeway in meeting the procedural rules governing litigation....); Traguth v. Zuck, 710 F.2d 90, 95 (2d Cir.1983) (indicating that, although the right of self-representation does not exempt a pro se litigant from compliance with procedural rules, it should not be impaired by harsh application of technical rules), and deliberate, continuing efforts to ensure that a pro se litigant understands what is required of him, see Ruotolo v. IRS, 28 F.3d 6, 8 (2d Cir.1994) (Recognizing that the [plaintiffs] were acting pro se, the district court should have afforded them special solicitude before granting the [defendant's] motion for summary judgment. It had an obligation to make certain that the [plaintiffs] were aware of and understood the consequences to them of their failure to comply with the Local Rules. (internal citation omitted)); Enron Oil Corp., 10 F.3d at 96 ([T]rial judges must make some effort to protect a party [proceeding pro se ] from waiving a right to be heard because of his or her lack of legal knowledge.). The scope of the solicitude afforded may vary depending on the procedural context and the demands placed by that context upon the inexperienced litigant. For example, in light of the particular difficulties presented by a motion for summary judgment, this Court has previously indicated that a district court errs by failing to advise a pro se litigant of the nature of such a motion and the consequences of failing to respond to it properly, unless the opposing party has already provided the pro se litigant with such notice or it is otherwise clear from the record that the pro se litigant understands the nature of the motion. See McPherson v. Coombe, 174 F.3d 276, 280-81 (2d Cir.1999). In addition, the appropriate degree of special solicitude is not identical with regard to all pro se litigants. We have sometimes suggested that a court should be particularly solicitous of pro se litigants who assert civil rights claims, see Davis v. Goord, 320 F.3d 346, 350 (2d Cir.2003), and litigants who are incarcerated also receive certain special solicitude, see Houston v. Lack, 487 U.S. 266, 270-72, 108 S.Ct. 2379, 101 L.Ed.2d 245 (1988) (indicating that a pro se inmate's submission is deemed filed with the appropriate federal court as of the date it is given to prison officials); Giles v. Kearney, 571 F.3d 318, 326 (3d Cir.2009) (noting that the personal affidavit of an inmate proceeding pro se will often be granted more than ordinary significance in light of his substantial difficulty in generating record evidence beyond his own affidavit). Alternatively, as noted above, the degree of solicitude may be lessened where the particular pro se litigant is experienced in litigation and familiar with the procedural setting presented. See Davidson, 32 F.3d at 31. The ultimate extension of this reasoning is that a lawyer representing himself ordinarily receives no such solicitude at all. See Holtz v. Rockefeller & Co., 258 F.3d 62, 82 n. 4 (2d Cir.2001); see also Andrews v. Columbia Gas Transmission Corp., 544 F.3d 618, 633 (6th Cir.2008) (indicating that a district court does not err by refusing to afford special solicitude to a practicing lawyer who is proceeding pro se ); Godlove v. Bamberger, Foreman, Oswald, & Hahn, 903 F.2d 1145, 1148 (7th Cir.1990) (Ordinarily, we treat the efforts of pro se applicants gently, but a pro se lawyer is entitled to no special consideration.). In sum, relevant precedent indicates that, while a pro se litigant should ordinarily be afforded a substantial degree of solicitude, the exact degree thereof will depend upon a variety of factors, including, but not necessarily limited to, the specific procedural context and relevant characteristics of the particular litigant. In some circumstances, such as when a particular pro se litigant is familiar with the procedural setting as a result of prior experience such that it is appropriate to charge [him] with knowledge of ... particular requirements, Sledge, 564 F.3d at 109, it falls well within a district court's discretion to lessen the solicitude that would normally be afforded. Given the wide range of circumstances confronting district courts, we do not purport to establish an exhaustive list of the relevant considerations as to when and to what degree departure from the usual rule of special solicitude is appropriate. We believe instead that district courts should exercise their discretion in such cases, subject to review for its abuse, to determine based on the totality of the relevant circumstances when the ordinary approach is not appropriate and what degree of solicitude, if any, should be afforded. It remains for us to determine here whether the district court's complete withdrawal of the ordinary solicitude from Tracy for the remainder of this action, primarily on the basis of Tracy's experience with the legal system, constituted a proper exercise of discretion. As suggested above, a pro se litigant's experience with and knowledge of both the legal system in general and the particular procedural context at issue are certainly factors that a court should consider when determining the degree of solicitude to afford that litigant. Moreover, it is certainly possible that a pro se litigant may be sufficiently experienced as to justify a court affording him only minimal solicitude and, at least under certain circumstances, a litigant's experience and knowledge may even justify complete withdrawal of solicitude for the entirety of an action, see Godlove, 903 F.2d at 1148 (denying special solicitude to pro se practicing attorney); cf. Sledge, 564 F.3d at 109 (suggesting that general withdrawal may be appropriate where there has been a strong showing that a pro se litigant has acquired adequate experience more generally, so as to render special solicitude unnecessary and potentially inappropriate). In the circumstances here, however, we are unwilling to endorse the general withdrawal of such solicitude for the entirety of the action on the basis of Tracy's repeated earlier participation in only some aspects of litigation. As noted earlier, the underlying justification for the solicitude ordinarily granted to pro se litigants is that it is necessary to prevent such parties, who generally lack legal training and experience, from inadvertently forfeiting important rights. See Triestman, 470 F.3d at 475. This rationale is undermined where there are substantial indications that a litigant is fully aware of the requirements of the stage of litigation at issue. Such may very well be the case where a litigant has previously participated in that stage of litigation, particularly if he has done so repeatedly and has demonstrated competence in doing so. But the inference that a repeat litigant must be fully aware of the requirements of all stages of litigation merely as a result of frequent participation in legal actions is dramatically more attenuated, see Sledge, 564 F.3d at 109-10 (noting the difficulty in making this inference), particularly in light of the tendency of pro se actions to be dismissed early in the litigation process, see Jonathan D. Rosenbloom, Exploring Methods to Improve Management and Fairness in Pro Se Cases: A Study of the Pro Se Docket in the Southern District of New York, 30 Fordham Urb. L.J. 305, 335-38 (2002) (noting that a large majority of pro se actions are dismissed either sua sponte or pursuant to motions to dismiss or for summary judgment). Tracy's previous participation in ten federal and state actions does not on its own justify a complete withdrawal of solicitude for the entirety of this action, including any trial that may ensue. His voluminous motion practice, even if coupled with some degree of demonstrated competence in prior filings, is insufficient to cure this deficiency. We note that it may well have been appropriate to withdraw Tracy's special status in relation to the requirements of opposing a motion for summary judgment. The magistrate judge properly observed that Tracy's papers in this action have been exceptionally good ... [and] accompanied by affidavits, exhibits[,] and memoranda of law. Report & Recommendation at 13. We agree, moreover, that permitting experienced pro se litigants to retain their special status (despite their litigation experience) could in some circumstances tilt the scales of justice unfairly in [their] favor ... and against [their] opponents. Id. at 9. At the same time, however, the showing here was not sufficient to justify a full withdrawal of special status with regard to all aspects of this litigation. Accordingly, we vacate the decision of the district court to the extent that it denied Tracy the special solicitude ordinary afforded to pro se litigants for the remainder of the action. Our decision, however, should not be read as prohibiting the district court on remand from limiting or even withdrawing solicitude with regard to particular matters, as appropriate, based on Tracy's substantial litigation experience.