There’s just no winning. Even when you win.

An investigation into the state’s small claims legal system by the Sun Journal has found that winning a judgment often falls short of actual justice.

According to estimates from the clerks, who are in the best position to know, maybe one-third of the people who win their cases actually receive the award they are due.

The system is broken and should be fixed.

The most obvious problem is that the law has no teeth. After a judge has ruled in favor of a plaintiff, the real work of collecting begins. The burden of proof still rests with the plaintiff, while the deck is stacked in favor of the person who is sued.

“Once you get your judgment, that sometimes is only half the battle,” District Court Judge Paul Cote Jr. told the Sun Journal. “And sometimes less than half of the battle. Collecting on the judgment is really what the plaintiff is seeking to begin with. And that is not easy at times.”

Reform is needed. Otherwise, for many people with legitimate claims, the time and expense only adds to the burden of their original complaint. In many cases, the costs greatly outweigh the return.

Maine’s judicial system doesn’t track small claims cases and outcomes. There’s no measure of how well the system is working and no way to quantitatively study how effective rulings are. That should change.

Faith in the small claims process needs to be restored. Favorable judgments should be enforced, and court cases should be monitored to make sure the process is working.

People who sue in small claims are looking for their day in court, for a chance to make their case and to be made whole. The courts need to do a better job making sure that happens.