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. Recognizing the continued importance of court navigators, the Conference of Chief Justices and Conference of State Court Administrators adopted Resolution 2 in 2021 to urge greater adoption and expansion of court navigator programs. 

What are court navigator programs?

Court navigator programs use nonlawyer staff and volunteers from communities outside the court 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-supported program under the supervision of court staff. While most court navigator programs are operated by a community partner, some court systems operate their own navigator program and hire staff navigators. 

How do court navigator programs increase access to justice?

Court navigators:

• are not required to 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 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.