California JusticeCorps

The JusticeCorps program addresses a vital need—increasing access to justice for the entire community, especially low-income and non-native English speakers trying to resolve their family law, civil, or small claims case without the assistance of a lawyer.

In California over 4 million people come to court each year attempting to navigate the legal system on their own to resolve important civil legal matters. Legal aid can’t come close to fully meeting the need. The State Bar reports that two-thirds of meritorious cases are turned away from legal aid assistance because of lack of resources. National data indicates that 60 to 90 percent of family law and housing cases involve at least one self-represented litigant.

The JusticeCorps program assists those community members by recruiting, training and placing AmeriCorps members as assistants in self-help legal access centers. Through this work, access to justice is increased for the community and people are able to move to a place of greater stability in their lives, after their cases are resolved. Read More

• About Us
  JusticeCorps is a court-based AmeriCorps program. Members work with litigants who come to court without attorneys empowering these individuals to represent themselves in: family law, small claims, housing and restraining order cases.
  
  Now in its 14th year, The JusticeCorps program helps California courts meet the needs of self-represented litigants by recruiting and training 300 college students and recent graduates annually to support California’s court-based self-help centers. JusticeCorps members provide information to people who can’t afford an attorney and are trying to resolve critical family, housing, and financial matters on their own. Members provide referrals, assist in forms completion, and help people navigate the entire court process.
  
  With the support of AmeriCorps funding JusticeCorps helps make it possible for families to finalize parenting plans during a divorce, for someone in fear of violence to obtain a restraining order, and for tenants to respond to an eviction notice and secure time necessary to find replacement housing.
• Our Impact
  JusticeCorps members help court-based self-help centers serve more people more thoroughly. In the 2016-2017 program year alone, across 7 counties, 269 members completed their full term of service, providing 125,000 hours of assistance.
  
  • Assisting self-represented litigants with referrals and legal forms—Members provided 115,671 “instances of assistance” and helped litigants prepare 187,000 complex legal forms accurately and correctly.
  
  • Offering language assistance—Approximately 70% of JusticeCorps members each year are bilingual, and their skills are increased through JusticeCorps training curriculum designed with support from the State Justice Institute. Last year, 22,000 litigants were assisted in their native language.
  The impact on participating students is also significant. Many of JusticeCorps’ 3,000 alumni are first-generation college graduates, and more than two-thirds go on to further education and prestigious fellowships. Over 92% of program participants say their service experience helped prepare them for future work and study.