Organization: Superior Court of Santa Barbara County (SBSC)
The mission of the Superior Court of Santa Barbara County is to protect constitutional rights and liberties, apply the law equally, resolve disputes, and reconcile relationships in a fair and timely manner.
Project: CA Criminal Division Information Project
The Superior Court of Santa Barbara County is a rule-based public institution. The local rules of the SBSC include more than 100 pages of text across 21 chapters. These rules are important. They detail how cases are filed, calendared, and adjudicated. They also specify the court’s fines, fees, case procedures, and security procedures. Oftentimes, however, members of the public remain unfamiliar with court rules until they are brought to court for criminal, civil, or family law matters. In particular, individuals who are charged with criminal offenses commonly enter the court with limited knowledge of pretrial release, case compliance expectations, and criminal procedures. The SBSC aims to address this public awareness issue by developing resources that communicate criminal processes in a straightforward, accessible, and engaging way. These resources, ideally, would encourage members of the public to become familiar with court processes before becoming involved in criminal matters as well as aid individuals already involved in criminal cases. A more aware public promises greater understanding of court scheduling and court compliance requirements, fewer missed court dates, fewer court order violations, and more efficient case processing. The Public Fellow will work with the SBSC’s Administrative Analyst and Judicial Services Manager to plan and create these resources. The Fellow would focus on developing resources to reach and engage with Santa Barbara’s diverse public.
The Public Fellow will:
- Collect information related to criminal case processing in Santa Barbara County.
- Identify gaps in public information related to bail, pretrial assessment and supervision, criminal case calendaring, and pretrial release compliance.
- Create accessible informational resources (written, graphic, video, and/or audio resources) related to criminal case processing for residents and visitors of Santa Barbara County.
- Create multi-language informational resources for residents and visitors of Santa Barbara County (optional).
- Create web-based informational resources for residents and visitors of Santa Barbara County (optional).
An ideal candidate will have experience with or interest in working with public policy and government programs. Candidates with written content creation, infographic design, user experience design, and/or language translation skills (or interest in developing these skills) are highly desired. The Fellow will be required to attend on-site weekly progress meetings at the SBSC Figueroa Building in downtown Santa Barbara. The Fellow may also be required to travel to meetings with local justice partners.
The Fellow will be supervised by the SBSC’s Administrative Analyst and Judicial Services Manager. The Fellow will be required to attend an orientation meeting, two project-planning meetings, and weekly progress meetings. The Fellow will begin work on June 17, 2019 and complete work on August 23 (20 hours/week). The internship’s weekly requirements will include:
Week 1: Orientation meeting, project-planning meeting
Week 2: Project-planning meeting, progress meeting
Weeks 3-6: Background research, meetings with justice partners, progress meetings
Weeks 7-9: Content and resource development, progress meetings
Week 10: Project presentation
Note: After an offer of internship, the intern must submit to a Live Scan fingerprinting background check and also complete a medical history review (self-disclosure form) to determine if he or she can perform the essential functions of their assignment with or without accommodations.