Whats wrong going to court in civil case without an attorney? If you have strong case, do not be afraid. I have done it and won, but not in the United State of Attorneys, but in Europe. Act well, judge is gonna even help you to.
It's not impossible to be successful as a defendant in a civil suit representing yourself in the US, but I'm not sure the odds are good. The best case is if the judge immediately recognizes it as a specific kind of nuisance case that they've seen before, and is sympathetic to dismissing it as quickly as possible. In that case they might pretty strongly hint to you exactly what motions you need to file so they can get rid of the case. But it's also quite possible for a groundless case to not look obviously groundless if the defendant doesn't explain why well.
Were you by any chance in a civil-law country (most of Europe outside the UK)? The judges in civil-law systems take on more of a hybrid judge/investigator role, which makes it easier for them to play the role of helping out a defendant, if their investigation finds the facts warrant doing so. It's also more common for them to make decisions of their own accord, while the US norm is that the judges only rule on motions from the parties, rarely sua sponte. That makes it particularly important to file the right motions at the right times, to even give the judge a chance to rule in your favor.
If it were state court, I'd be more inclined to go it alone, but it's federal court. I wouldn't be worried about making my case, but would be more worried about not following the proper rules of civil procedure.
Yes, this is valid concern. It has happened here that you just ask to the judge, that could he/she help you to go through the case. So judge actually did help, stepped in when something needed to say or similar. If you behave well, judge has no reason to dismiss or belittle you. Actually, if this is clearly a bully case, it is easy to win judge to your side. I did exactly that.
There's more i wanted to say.
Make your case and stick to the strongest point and strongest point only. Do not answer to any question momentarily, even to the easiest ones - make pause, thnk 5..10 seconds, then answer. Stick to that pause. Never lie. Answer only yes or no answers - yes i did, no i did not. Never ever ever, under any circumstances answer yes, but or no, but. Never. Again, never hurry. Do not settle. Those kind of cases are built to bully you to settle. Even judge will press you to settle at some point. Do not settle, see it through. Keep your plan. Write it down. Stick to it. And you will be fine.
