Date: Oct. 19, 2005

NEW YORK—The New York State Unified Court System has launched a Spanish-language version of its CourtHelp website at www.nycourthelp.gov to help Spanish-speaking citizens navigate through New York’s court system more easily.

The CourtHelp website, “ Ayuda en los Tribunales,” is organized into easy-to-understand categories and presented in a user-friendly format using plain language, videos, and simple, straightforward graphics. It contains useful information, such as:

• Free court forms
• Courthouse information, including hours, addresses, telephone numbers, directions, and facts about the kinds of cases a court handles and the types of help that are available at a courthouse
• Answers to common questions about the law and court procedures
• Lawyer referral services
• Law library locations
• A directory of court administrators and offices

Hon. Juanita Bing Newton, Deputy Chief Administrative Judge for Justice Initiatives, whose office spearheaded the project, stated, “In this modern age, more and more people depend on the Internet to conduct the business of their daily lives. Our CourtHelp website has aided many a user to have a better understanding of New York’s legal system, something that can be rather overwhelming, particularly for those who do not have lawyers and are representing themselves in court. For this reason, I am very pleased to announce that a new Spanish version of CourtHelp has been developed. I am confident that the new website will be of invaluable assistance to a large and growing population of New Yorkers who are Spanish-speakers.”

Created by the Office of the Deputy Chief Administrative Judge for Justice Initiatives, the English-language version of CourtHelp was launched in September 2003. Over a quarter of a million visitors have used the site to date.

U.S. Census data for 2003 for people over five years old indicates that more than 25 percent of those living in New York City and over 14 percent of New York State residents speak Spanish at home.