Kevin Dorival knew he was taking a risk pleading his case pro se.

Only 20 years old, broke and with a slew of felonies including robbery on his record, he understood he wasn’t a sympathetic figure. Yet, there he was, asking for another chance after falling behind on monthly restitution payments that were a condition of his release following a nine-month stint in jail. The $100 payments might as well have been $1,000, Dorival said. He had mere pennies to his name.