What Child Is This: Raskin and the Right to Represent Your Children Pro Se

On June 2, 2023, in Raskin ex rel. JD1 and JD2 v. Dallas Independent School District, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that a parent may represent her children pro se in federal court when state and federal law indicate that the children’s case belongs to the parent. In doing so, the Fifth Circuit departed from ten of its sister circuits, which never allow pro se parent representation. This Comment argues that because American parents historically could exercise many fundamental rights on behalf of their children, the Supreme Court should resolve the circuit split by presumptively allowing a parent to represent her children pro se.