Leveraging navigator programs to assist court users

As courts across the country encounter growing numbers of people without lawyers, navigator programs can be a vital tool for ensuring access to justice for all. Court navigators are nonlawyers who provide real-time legal information, referrals, and navigational support to people with civil legal needs who need help moving through the court system and understanding complex legal procedures. 

What are court navigator programs?

Court navigator programs use nonlawyer staff and volunteers to provide person-to-person assistance to court users navigating the justice system without legal representation. Court navigators are typically volunteers who work with a court-sponsored program under the supervision of court staff. Some court systems even employee their own navigators. 

How do court navigator programs increase access to justice?

Court navigators:

• do not have formal legal credentials or training
• are trained to assist court users without lawyers with basic civil legal problems
• assist one party or one side of a case at a time
• do not establish an attorney/client relationship, meaning there is no professional liability to navigators, navigator supervisors, or the entities under which they operate; and
• are part of a formal program and are not acting in an individual capacity.

Does one size fit all?  

More than half of states have created court navigator programs. Some programs have existed for many years. In other areas, courts are just beginning to explore how they might start a navigator program.