Two-Day Court Interpreter Certification Orientation Workshop

I am pleased to announce that there will be a Court Interpreter Certification Program, Two-Day Orientation Workshop (Language Neutral) presented by South Carolina Court Administration in Columbia, South Carolina on Friday, June 1, 2012 and Saturday, June 2, 2012.

The sessions will run all day, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on both days.

Where:

Midlands Technical College (MTC)
Northeast Campus Technology Center
151 Powell Rd.
Columbia, South Carolina 29203

When:

Friday, June 1 and Saturday, June 2, 2012, 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Cost:

Registration fee: $250.00

For more info, Invitation to Orientation 06.01.12.

~ RFW

February 2012 Newsletter

We are pleased to share our latest newsletter.

SCATJC February2012

If you have questions, please feel free to email me.

~RFW

Law School for Interpreters: A Success!

Bright and early Saturday morning, 77 people were driving into downtown Columbia to attend the SC Access to Justice Commission’s LEP Work Group “Law School for Interpreters.”

Meanwhile, the sponsors were all busy opening the facility and readying the room and registration tables for each of these interpreters.

At 8:45 a.m., seats filled and the LEP Work Group provided an overview of the day and the program began.

The Agenda:

• Registration and Breakfast 8:00 a.m.
• Welcome & Overview 8:45 a.m.
• Pretest 9:00 a.m.
• “Oh the Places You Can Go and the People You Can Meet” (Overview of the SC Judicial System) 9:15 a.m.
• South Carolina State Court Interpreter Certification Program 9:45 a.m.
• BREAK
• Circuit Court 10:30 a.m.
• Family Court 11:15 a.m.
• Magistrates Court 12:00 noon
• Catered Lunch
• Court Process 1:45 p.m.
• BREAK
• Panel Discussion & Q&A: Reality Check 3:15 p.m.
• Post-test, Wrap-Up, & Evaluation 4:45 p.m.

The excitement in the room was palpable. Interpreters greeted one another with hugs, and sometimes questions of “which language do you speak?” And the excitement was not limited to interpreters and translators. Many of the event sponsors were thrilled with the turn-out, especially on a Saturday. Languages represented included Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, Chinese, French, and Urdu as well as a few others.

And we’re all excited about the prospect of an additional pool of qualified and certified interpreters and translators in the South Carolina Court System.

Thanks again to our sponsors, speakers, and participants!

~RFW

SC Supreme Court News: Revisions to the Self-Represented Litigant Simple Divorce Packet

Earlier today the Supreme Court of South Carolina issued an Order with Revisions to the Self-Represented Litigant Simple Divorce Packet based upon suggestions from the legal community to the SC Access to Justice Commission.

Changes include:

1. Addition of a sample script for the Plaintiff;
2. Paragraphs 1 and 2 have been added to Page 1 so the parties can provide the county and state of their residency;
3. Paragraph 3 of Page 1 has been added so the parties can provide the county and state where they last shared a residence;
4. Paragraph 4 has been revised to allow the Plaintiff to select the length of time the parties have lived in South Carolina; and
5. The statement “If no name change is requested, please leave blank” is added at the end of Paragraph B on page 3.

The instructions for completing the Simple Divorce Packet have been revised to reflect these changes.

-RFW

Congratulations to Texas Access to Justice Foundation!

In one of my e-alerts I saw where the Texas Access to Justice Foundation funded a YouTube video to help low-income self-represented litigants navigate the court system. I viewed the video and was duly impressed. While some of the information will vary for self-represented litigants in South Carolina, the video does provide good general information about what to expect in court.

Here’s the video:

Congratulations Texas!

-RFW

Update: Newberry County Self-Help Center Pilot Program

You may remember a quick announcement on the blog about the Newberry County Self-Help Center Pilot Program back in February. Well I’m pleased to say that the Newberry County Self-Help Center has regular operating hours – 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on the 1st Wednesday of every month.

The Center is located inside the main courthouse, just past security on the right. There are brochures available to the public and a list of clinics and other public offerings will be available to those interested.

Thanks.

~ RFW

Guest Blogger: Daniel Kim

Recently, I have been given the opportunity to work at the SC Access to Justice Commission (SCATJ) by being appointed as a “BFF,” a bar foundation fellow. The program is known as the South Carolina Bar Foundation Public Interest Fellows Project, which was started to increase student awareness of public interest law. It also offers public legal service organizations the help they need to accomplish the work they do for the public. Now you may wonder what SCATJ is and what the organization does; I know I did. But one of the great things about this program is that it gives students a chance to learn about public interest organizations that they did not know existed.

SCATJ is faced with the difficult challenge of “ensuring access to justice for all South Carolinians.” This organization was created to help people with low income and modest means obtain access to the South Carolina court system. One of their programs is geared towards self-represented litigants, and that is the field I have done the most amount of work. One of my major projects since starting here has been to work on an information guide for different counties within the judicial district of the new Newberry County Self-Help Center. Often times, self-represented litigants forego hiring an attorney due to lack of financial means. However, these litigants often go into court with no resources or knowledge of the SC legal and court system. They do not understand the legalese in forms, the process to properly fill out court documents and forms, and court policies and procedures, such as service of process.

SCATJ tries to provide self-represented litigants with guidelines and resources so that they may enter the court with more knowledge of the system. Chief Justice Toal has spearheaded the movement to streamline polices and procedures and have records be automated through the use of the Internet. This has enabled all courts in different SC counties to have similar paperwork.

The reason I came to law school was to help those in need and make an impact in the community. As cliché as that may sound, my passion and desire to achieve this goal is the reason I applied to be a “BFF” and the reason I want to become an attorney. The goals of SCATJ align with the goals I seek to accomplish after law school, and this is the sole reason I wanted to take part in this opportunity. This has been an invaluable learning experience for me thus far. I have learned a lot about public interest law, SC law, and the challenges everyday South Carolinians face to acquire what we, as law students, sometimes take for granted: obtaining justice. It has been a pleasure to work here at the SCATJ, and I look forward to continuing to work here in order to give back more to the community while continuing to learn and grow from this experience.

-Daniel Kim

Watch SC State of the Judiciary LIVE!

Today at 12:00 noon (EST), South Carolina Chief Justice Jean Hoefer Toal will deliver the annual State of the Judiciary at a joint session of the General Assembly.

Earlier today, the South Carolina Court News announced that the speech will be broadcast live on the South Carolina House of Representative’s Live Broadcast Chamber Video. Please note that you will need to have Adobe Flash Player in order to watch the presentation.

And if you are not able to view it live, the South Carolina Court News will announce its archived address (thank you SCETV) as soon as possible after the address.

-RFW

Tennessee introduces Justice for All

I watched this stunning video produced by the Tennessee Supreme Court and not only was I impressed with its quality and its simplicity, but also with its universality.

Unfortunately, the statistics used within the video match the statistics here in South Carolina.

But the message is strong. And it’s needed.

Watch for yourself!

-RFW

It’s official – Poster and FAQs online – en español

Good News!  ¡Buenas noticias!

The South Carolina Courts’ Self-Help Page now offers FAQs (General Questions, Circuit Court and Family Court) and an explanation about what court staff can and cannot in Spanish!

And many thanks to student volunteers with the USC School of Law’s Pro Bono Program and the kind folks at HABLA!

-RFW