2008 Annual Report - Superior Court of California - County of Los ...

JusticeCorps
We expanded our JusticeCorps legal assistance program last year from 100 volunteers
to 140. In addition, a pilot fellowship program was added. JusticeCorps volunteers
provide assistance to self-represented litigants. They answer questions, help litigants
complete court paperwork and put on workshops.
JusticeCorps fellows are graduates of the
JusticeCorps program. Most have completed
their college degrees and anticipate law school
enrollment.
Fellows provide direct assistance to litigants
whose cases are being heard in two family law
courtrooms piloting a case-flow-management
program.
A critical aspect of this assistance is that the
fellows attend the court hearings and accompany
the litigant to the resource center to help keep the
case on track for disposition.
One of the goals is not only to assist the litigant
with paperwork, but also educate them, so that
they fully understand the nature of the
proceedings, what was said during the hearing,
and the purpose of the documents they are filing.
Undergraduate JusticeCorps members serve a minimum of 300 hours for one year, which is
the equivalent of one day per week throughout at least the academic year. This qualifies them
for a $1,000 education award. They receive no other compensation, other than mileage
reimbursement and parking.
Fellows work full-time for one year and receive a monthly living allowance of $1,660. On
completion of 1,700 service hours, they also
qualify for a one-time education award of
$4,725 for tuition or payment of student
loans.
Undeniably, the service the JusticeCorps
members and fellows provide us and the public
offers far more value than the costs of
administering and staffing the programs.
There are currently 11 fellows. The personal
stories of two of them tell a great deal about
what JusticeCorps is all about.
Los Angeles Superior Court Annual Report 19