Core Principles Governing What We Build and How:

Trust first. The Litigant Portal carries institutional credibility when deployed by a court. It must feel neutral, authoritative, and honest. That means delivering hard truths clearly, not obscuring consequences, and citing sources (statutes, rules, and case law) whenever possible. The system never fabricates legal authority. If a valid citation does not exist, it says so.

Reduce harm. Missed deadlines and incomplete forms can change lives. Every workflow flags deadlines, surfaces consequences, defines legal terms, and provides off-ramps to legal aid and court resources. When in doubt, the system reduces risks.

Information, not advice. The Litigant Portal provides legal information and education. It tells users what they can do. It does not tell users what they should do. Compliance with unauthorized practice of law (UPL) rules is non-negotiable.

Guide, don't teach. Users do not need to understand the entire legal system to complete their legal matter. The Litigant Portal shows people where they are, what matters now, and what comes next. Forward progress is the goal.

Follow the user's story. The Litigant Portal is designed around real triggering events: a garnishment notice, an eviction summons, an unpaid invoice. Technology adapts to the user's narrative, not the other way around.

AI multiplies capacity; it does not gate access. The Litigant Portal must remain fully usable if AI is disabled by court policy, user preference, or regulatory constraint. AI enhances conversational triage, context-aware form filling, deadling extraction, and grounded citations. It does not replace curated legal content, structured workflows, or jurisdiction-specific resources. The system degrades gracefully. Access does not.

Mobile first, accessible always. Many users access the Litigant Portal exclusively on smartphones. Performance and clarity matter more than visual complexity. The Litigant Portal targets WCAG 2 AA compliance. Plain language at a fifth-grade reading level is the standard.

The full Guiding Principles document is available in the Litigant Portal Github repository.