San Diego JusticeCorps Program 2026-27 Legal Access Intern Application

Thank you for your interest in the JusticeCorps Program! JusticeCorps is administered by California Volunteers and JusticeCorps is a proud member of the AmeriCorps National Service Network.

This application is intended for current university students who will be enrolled in one of our partner institutions for the 2026-2027 academic year. Seniors graduating in December may apply if they can commit to continuing to serve eight hours per week through May of the program year.

Our partner universities are:

• University of California, San Diego
• San Diego State University
• California State University, San Marcos

If you have already completed a bachelor’s degree or will have completed a bachelor’s degree by August 2026 at any accredited university, you may apply for the JusticeCorps Graduate Fellowship program instead. Graduate Fellowship applicants do not need to have attended one of our partner universities.

Application Deadlines/Contact Person

Application Deadline: Only accepting applications from CSUSM students who live in the North County area until May 15, 2026. All UCSD/SDSU positions are filled for the 2026-27 program year. 

If you have any questions about the application process or encounter technical difficulties, please contact justicecorpsprogram@sdcourt.ca.gov.

Eligibility

There will be approximately 50 student members in the 2026-2027 San Diego Region JusticeCorps cohort. All majors are welcome to apply. The following are required of all JusticeCorps student members:

• Enrollment in a partner school
• U.S. citizenship or lawful permanent residency
• Livescan and security background check clearance
• Overall 2.50 GPA in all undergraduate coursework
• Be at least 17 years old
• Commitment to the entire program year and full participation, including completion of 300 hours of service
• Consistent weekly service schedule (cannot be absent from assigned service location for more than 30 calendar days at any time throughout the program year)
• Attendance at all mandatory weekend and site-based trainings 
• Participation in one national day of service project
• Have served no more than 3 terms in another AmeriCorps, NCCC or VISTA program

Position Description

JusticeCorps members will be trained to provide legal information to self–represented litigants to assist them with resolving important legal matters. JusticeCorps members assist litigants by helping them prepare court paperwork, by making referrals, or through assistance at legal information workshops. Members will receive training in a variety of areas to support and enhance the member’s service to the public as well as training that will support the members’ individual development.

JusticeCorps members are required to complete 300 hours of service over the full academic year. 

Start Date: September 2026

End Date: May/June 2027 (All hours must be completed by 8/15/2027)

Selection Criteria

Applicants will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Demonstrated desire to serve the local community
• Relevant experience in service projects
• Ability to apply information learned in training sessions
• Possession of strong verbal communication skills
• Organizational skills and ability to follow through with assigned tasks
• Ability to interact professionally with a diverse group of individuals including litigants, peers, court staff, supervisors, and bench officers
• Ability to work effectively in a stressful environment
• Ability to work well as part of a team
• Overall application strength
• Foreign language proficiency (desired, not required)

Fluency in another language is not a requirement. If you select "Other", please also indicate language and proficiency level.

Intermediate proficiency in a given language is defined as being somewhat comfortable assisting a litigant in that language. Advanced proficiency is defined as being very comfortable assisting a litigant in that language. Intermediate and Advanced proficiency do NOT require that an applicant is comfortable with technical and legal terms in a given language. If you indicated "intermediate proficiency" or above, the program will expect you to communicate with litigants in that language. Applicants who select "intermediate" or "advanced" may be asked to speak with the court's bilingual staff to confirm your level of proficiency before you begin serving litigants with limited English proficiency.

 If you would be uncomfortable assisting a litigant in a second language or consider yourself a "Beginner" please select "No Second Language".

JusticeCorps provides an intensive service experience. You will be required to perform a minimum of 8 hours of service per week for up to 10 months. Your service shift can be either one full-day 8-hour shift, or two 4-hour shifts (on separate weekdays). Your service shifts must take place during operating business hours (generally 8:00AM-5:00PM, Monday-Friday).
 

The main service sites for San Diego deal with the following case types as follows:

• Family Law Facilitator's Office - Family law cases involving child support, custody, visitation, divorce, parentage, etc.
• Legal Aid Society of San Diego - Civil Harassment and Domestic Violence Restraining Orders in East and South, Unlawful Detainers (eviction cases) in the Hall of Justice downtown, and Conservatorship (adult gaurdianship) in the Central Courthouse downtown.
• San Diego Volunteer Lawyer's Program - Unlawful Datainer (eviction cases) and Civil Harassment Restraining Orders
• Civil & Small Claims Business Office - Civil Harassment Restaining Order form assistiance and courtroom assitance, Small Claims courtroom assistance, and Name Change form assistance

For your reference, below you will find a list of possible JusticeCorps service sites. Please indicate your top two site preferences below. Please only select sites to which you would be willing and able to commute to. The sites listed as "Central" are located at our downtown courthouses, where no parking is available and students taking public transportation will be given priority placement.  

JusticeCorps will provide each Member with two blue-colored, long sleeve, button-up uniform shirts․ Please indicate your shirt size based on the two size charts (male or female) shown below․ Please note that they run on the smaller side. 

Please attach a copy of one of the following residency/citizenship documents:

• United States Passport or Passport Card
• Certificate of Naturalization (Form N -550 or N-570)
• Certificate of Citizenship (Form N -560 or N-561)
• Permanent Resident Card, INS (Form I -551)
• Alien Registration Receipt Card, INS (Form 1 -551)
• Report of Birth Abroad of a US Citizen (FS -240)
• Certificate of Birth-Foreign Service (FS-545)
• Certificate of Report of Birth (DS1350) - no Abstracts of Birth
• Departure Record (INS form I94) indicating that the INS has approved it as temporary evidence of lawful admission for permanent residence

* Please note that you must submit one document containing your photo. If your residency/citizenship document does not include a photo, please also upload a driver license below.

If you are a United States citizen and do not have one of the above documents: please attach a copy of both your driver’s license (or government issued photo ID) and your Birth Certificate showing that you were born in one of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, US Virgin Islands, American Samoa, or the Northern Marina Islands.

PLEASE NOTE: Birth Certificates issued by counties/hospitals are not acceptable - AmeriCorps requires state-issued certificates.

If you do not have any of these documents available for upload at this time or you would prefer to deliver them in person you may do so. You may submit your application now without providing eligibility documentation. However, if you are selected to interview, you will be asked to provide the documents listed above in order to verify your residency status (as required by AmeriCorps). Failure to provide this documentation will make you ineligible to participate in JusticeCorps.

My signature below attests that all statements made in this application are truthful and confirm my understanding that any misrepresentations or false statements made in this application may result in not being considered for service, and that if not discovered by JusticeCorps until after acceptance, such misrepresentation could be grounds for immediate termination.

Due to changes in the court budget and an unpredictable fiscal situation court sites may change. All placements are subject to continued AmeriCorps and court funding.

If you are selected for service as a JusticeCorps member, you will be required to complete AmeriCorps’ National Service Criminal History Checks (NSCHC).
The NSCHC is a screening procedure established by law to protect the beneficiaries of national service. NSCHCs have three components:

1. A nationwide name-based check of the National Sex Offender Public Website (NSOPW). The NSOPW is a centralized system that identifies people who are registered as sex offenders in states, territories, and with many federally recognized Tribes.
2. A name-or fingerprint-based search of the statewide criminal history registry in the candidate’s state of residence and in the state where the person will serve or work, and
3. A fingerprint-based FBI check

All AmeriCorps members must complete the NSCHC to be fully eligible to serve. JusticeCorps members are also required to complete a separate LiveScan background check for clearance at the court-based site at which they are serving.

Per Federal AmeriCorps regulations, anyone who refuses to consent to the NSCHC is ineligible to serve as an AmeriCorps member.

Applicants that do not consent to the NSCHC are ineligible to serve as JusticeCorps members.