Prisoners who had no legal representation could not effectively present their grievances. Pro se prisoners had great difficulty in framing any kind of pleading, and knew nothing of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or the Federal Rules of Evidence. The complaints fell into four areas: (1) brutality; (2) lack of medical care; (3) overcrowding; and (4) summary discipline. Due process of law does not require that all those who feel aggrieved be able to get what they want from a court. But it does require that when such a person comes to court with a potentially cognizable claim, he be given a chance to say what he wants. Often enough, the right to say what one wants, to get the ear of the court, is itself what a complainant most desires. The right to be heard, whether one's conditions be exalted or lowly, is a right the courts have a duty to vindicate. It was to vindicate that right, and to get at the truth about the conditions of some of the lowliest offscourings of society that Ruiz v. Estelle was brought about. 39 footnotes.