Court Highlights
Superior Court of California, County of Orange
Orange Superior Court’s project was supported by Cycle 4 grant funding, enabling the Court to translate and hire contractor interpreters to record voice-overs for 18 instructional and informational videos in Arabic, the county’s sixth most used language. These videos cover a wide range of important court topics, including conservatorship, family law, traffic citations, and e-filing, and are being posted on the Court’s public website. By providing these resources in Arabic, the project helps Limited-English-Proficient (LEP) court users find answers online, better understand court processes, and prepare for their needs, ensuring more equitable access to justice.
Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles
Los Angeles Superior Court has established dedicated offices with standardized remote‑interpreting workstations, allowing interpreters to provide language services between courthouse locations. This system increases efficiency for short proceedings and reduces wait times or delays for LEP court users. Additionally, the Court’s chatbot project expands language access by providing Spanish translations of commonly used instructions and case‑type information, helping LEP individuals better understand and participate in the judicial process. Together, these grant-funded tools significantly improve and broaden language access for LEP users in Los Angeles County.
Video Remote Interpreting (VRI) Equipment Kits
Translation of Chatbot Automation
Cycle 1, Fiscal Year 2019–20
The Judicial Council approved language access grants for trial court signage and technology for 29 trial courts to improve services and better assist court users with limited English proficiency. The council took the action via circulating order, as the grants were originally submitted for consideration at the March 24 council meeting that was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cycle 2, Fiscal Year 2020–21
The Judicial Council approved language access grants for trial court signage and technology for 23 trial courts to improve services and better assist court users with limited English proficiency. The council also approved the signage and technology contingency funding allocation at its March 12 meeting.
Cycle 3, Fiscal Year 2021–22
The Judicial Council approved language access grants for trial court signage and technology for 22 trial courts to improve services and better assist court users with limited English proficiency. In this cycle, the maximum application amounts for both signage and technology categories were increased to encourage larger requests for funding, and the grant priorities were updated to expand the types of eligible projects
Cycle 4, Fiscal Year 2022–23
The Judicial Council approved language access grants for trial court signage and technology for 26 trial courts to improve services and better assist court users with limited English proficiency. In this cycle, courts were able to submit project proposals for funding consideration from multiple grant funds in one submission process.
Cycle 5, Fiscal Year 2023–24
The Judicial Council approved language access grants for trial court signage and technology for 17 trial courts to improve services and better assist court users with limited English proficiency. As in previous cycle, courts were able to submit project proposals for funding consideration from multiple grant funds in one submission process. All funding from Cycle 5, under the $2.35 million annual allocation, was distributed to courts.
Cycle 6, Fiscal Year 2024-25
The Judicial Council approved language access grants for trial court signage and technology in the amount of $2.16 million for 18 trial courts to improve services and better assist court users with limited English proficiency.
Cycle 7, Fiscal Year 2025-26
The Judicial Council approved language access grants for trial court signage and technology in the amount of $2.35 million for 17 trial courts to improve services and better assist limited-English-proficient, deaf, and hard-of-hearing court users.
Cycle 8, Fiscal Year 2026-27
The Judicial Council approved language access grants for trial court signage and technology in the amount of $2.35 million for 24 trial courts to improve services and better assist limited-English-proficient, deaf, and hard-of-hearing court users.
Multi-Cycle Overviews: Highlights, Metrics, Photos
Project Highlights: Cycles 1 to 2
The Language Access Signage and Technology Grants: Summary of Cycles 1 and 2 report provides an overview of awarded courts and summarizes how grant funding supported improvements in language access for court users with limited English proficiency or who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Project Highlights: Cycles 3 to 5
The Language Access Signage and Technology Grant Program: Project Highlights from Cycles 3 to 5 report provides an overview of awarded courts and summarizes how grant funding supported improvements in language access for court users with limited English proficiency or who are deaf or hard of hearing.