Clerk Launches Courthouse Navigator Program

Courthouse Navigator information desk. Photo by Graham Kilmer.

A new service designed to help low-income residents who can’t afford an attorney navigate the justice system is now available at the Milwaukee County Courthouse.

The “Courthouse Navigator Program” is available to assist people with the civil (non-criminal) side of the legal system. The Clerk of Circuit Court’s Office is partnering on the program with the Milwaukee Justice Center, a nonprofit that assists low-income people involved in civil legal actions, including eviction, child custody and divorce.

The navigator program is being funded by an Americorps grant. The Justice Center is providing matching funds for the grant, so it comes at no cost to county taxpayers. Staff from Americorps will help the public navigate the courthouse with an information desk set up near the main public entrance along N. 10th Street. They will also accompany and assist litigants as they work through civil legal processes, administering some of the programs already offered by the Milwaukee Justice Center.

One of the justice center’s largest programs assists people in filling out important forms for cases that go before family court, said Mary Ferwerda, executive director of the Milwaukee Justice Center in a press conference Wednesday afternoon. The filing process for some of these forms, she said, can require litigants to visit as many as six different offices.

“That can be very difficult if you are able-bodied and you speak English and you have some support,” Ferwerda said. “If none of that applies to you, it’s an almost impossible barrier.”

Élysse Chay, a program officer with Americorps, said the navigator program should provide a “big improvement in the quality of life for a lot of people.”

Americorps staff have assisted more than 25o people at the information desk and helped several people navigate civil processes at the courthouse, said Mark Guzman, an Americorps program coordinator at the Justice Center.

“Members of our community visit the Courthouse Complex in connection with life-altering matters,” said Clerk of Circuit Court Anna Maria Hodges in a statement. “They deserve the maximum possible support in navigating a multi-building complex that teems with activity throughout the day.”