A Chinese-American Petitioner Disappeared in a Supreme Court Case

choi

Brent Kendall and Colleen Wilson, , Supreme Court's Missing Man; Plaintiff whose case was accepted by high court in rare move have disappeared. Wall Street Journal, Dec 10, 2014.
www.wsj.com/articles/supreme-courts-missing-man-1418172350

Quote:

"Bobby Chen achieved the rarest of legal feats last month: Even though he had no lawyer, he persuaded the Supreme Court to hear his case, a battle with the city of Baltimore over a torn-down row house.

"Mr Chen filed his petition to the Supreme Court in March. Parts of it were hand written. His grammar was often incorrect. And he made a motion to submit the case without paying the court’s $300 filing fee because he said he had virtually no money. Despite incredibly long odds, his appeal caught the court’s eye. The justices announced on Nov. 7 that they would hear Mr Chen’s case.

"Most of the cases it [Supreme Court] considers involve issues that have created disagreements in the lower courts. Mr Chen’s arguments weren’t as focused as a lawyer’s, but he highlighted just such an issue.

Note:
(a) high court
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Court
(b) "'He was surprised, shocked, depressed and sad but could do nothing,' Mr Chen wrote in his Supreme Court petition, referring to himself in the third person."

In legal documents, the parties (plaintiff, defendant) are usually referred to in third person--to show objectiveness and also a practice, I think, comes from lawyers writing on behalf of their clients (who are definitely third persons). A judge in open court says "I" amd "the court" (the latter is formal), but uses exclusively the latter in writing.