JusticeCorps Given Chief Justice Award

SAN FRANCISCO—Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye today announced that the California JusticeCorps Program is the recipient of the Chief Justice’s Award for Exemplary Service and Leadership. The award honors an individual, entity, or program deserving of special recognition for outstanding service to the judicial branch.

JusticeCorps involves a collaborative effort between participating California superior courts, college campuses, and local community agencies and is sponsored by the Judicial Council of California. As an AmeriCorps national service program, it recruits and trains more than 250 college students and recent graduates each year to support legal self-help centers in local courts. JusticeCorps is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.

“It’s appropriate that we honor JusticeCorps on Law Day,” said the Chief Justice. “Members are recruited from our state’s diverse campuses and about 70 percent of them are bilingual. Last year JusticeCorps members provided assistance to approximately16,000 self-represented litigants in their native language—and more than 110,000 litigants in total. At a time when the judicial branch has faced unprecedented cuts, JusticeCorps members have provided a significant contribution to the rule of law and to the judicial branch’s self-help centers, which serve more than a million Californians every year.”

JusticeCorps began in Los Angeles 10 years ago and has expanded to San Diego and Bay Area counties. The Chief Justice will acknowledge the award May 16 at a JusticeCorps anniversary event sponsored by Los Angeles Superior Court.