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Equal Access Project
Introduction
California courts are facing an ever-increasing number of litigants who go to court without legal counsel, largely because they cannot afford representation. The unfamiliarity of these self-represented litigants with court procedures and forms, as well as with their rights, leaves them disadvantaged in court and consumes a significant amount of court resources. As a result, self-represented litigants present a direct challenge to the Judicial Council's goal of increasing access to the courts. CFCC is answering that challenge with the Equal Access Project.
Equal Access Policy and Standards of Practice
The Equal Access Project staffs the Judicial Council's Task Force on Self-Represented Litigants to coordinate the statewide response to the needs of these litigants and to distribute information about best practices statewide. It facilitates ongoing discussions by court-based self help centers.
Technical Assistance. CFCC attorneys with experience in providing self-help services to self-represented litigants are able to provide technical assistance to courts concerning the development of self-help programs. Project staff members provide information on other models that may be of interest, as well as resource materials and other assistance. The Equal Access Project has materials available for courts and court-based self-help programs, including videos, instructions, computer programs, and sample handouts. Sample brochures and materials from the self-help programs are available at this site.
Project members have also worked to put together a self-help Web site, the California Courts Self-Help Center, to provide basic legal and procedural information to self-represented litigants.
Equal
Access Research In Spring 2003, project staff completed an evaluation
of Family Law Information Centers. In Spring 2005, project staff completed
an evaluation
of the effectiveness of 5 pilot self-help centers and an evaluation
of the 99 legal services programs funded by the Equal Access Fund.
In addition
to providing technical assistance, the Equal Access Project is coordinating
research on the effect of court-based self-help programs and developing
evaluation tools to help courts identify the most successful strategies
for providing services.
Equal
Access Training
The Equal Access Project provides training about self-help centers;
the unbundling of legal services; and a variety of other topics for the
courts, the bar, and the public. Workshop materials are available here.
Please contact CFCC@jud.ca.gov for more information.
