March 22, 2018

The Judicial Council is now receiving nominations for vacancies on several Judicial Council Advisory Committees and is reaching out to encourage interested individuals to apply for these volunteer positions. The Judicial Council is the policymaking body of the California courts and is responsible for ensuring the consistent, independent, impartial, and accessible administration of justice. The advisory committees help carry out the Judicial Council’s mission while providing expertise and guidance.

While we would encourage you and your colleagues to apply for any appropriate vacant position, in particular, we wanted to highlight that several committees are seeking to fill mental health and behavioral health professional vacancies. Please see the below list of committees seeking to find individuals with mental health and behavioral health expertise:

COLLABORATIVE JUSTICE COURTS ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Purpose: The committee makes recommendations to the Judicial Council on criteria for identifying and evaluating collaborative justice courts and for improving the processing of cases in these courts, which include drug courts, domestic violence courts, youth courts, and other collaborative justice courts.

WHO SHOULD APPLY: Mental health professionals with experience with collaborative courts (all court types considered).

Key projects of this advisory body are outlined in the annual agenda. Click here for more information.

CRIMINAL LAW ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Purpose: The 20-member advisory committee is comprised of appellate court justices, trial court judicial officers, judicial administrators, prosecutors, criminal defense lawyers, and probation officers, and advisory staff, and reports directly to the Judicial Council. Members are appointed by the Chief Justice for a three-year term. The committee is charged with making recommendations to the council for improving the administration of justice in criminal proceedings. The committee identifies issues and concerns confronting the judiciary in the areas of criminal procedure, practice, and case management and suggests solutions and responses.

WHO SHOULD APPLY: Mental health professionals with experience with experience in criminal law issues (including, but not limited to, behavioral health department staff or a forensic psychiatrist/psychologist).

Key projects of this advisory body are outlined in the annual agenda. Click here for more information. 

FAMILY AND JUVENILE LAW ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Purpose: The Judicial Council of California’s Family and Juvenile Law Advisory Committee makes recommendations to the council for improving the administration of justice in all cases involving marriage, family, or children. The committee is staffed by the Center for Families, Children & the Courts.

WHO SHOULD APPLY: Mental health professionals with experience with family and children’s issues. Mental health or behavioral health professionals from county departments may also apply.

Key projects of this advisory body are outlined in the annual agenda. Please click here for a fact sheet, and here for more information.

HOW TO APPLY: The nomination form has two parts. Part I can be completed by the nominee or nominator.

Part II is to be completed and signed by the nominee. Please note that for multiple nominations, the nominee is only required to submit Part II of the nomination form once. Please complete and return the attached nomination forms along with the nominee’s biography or curriculum vitae by April 6, 2018 to:

Judicial Council of California. Judicial Council Support, 455 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, California 94102-3688 – Attn: Maria Kwan, Fax: 415-865-4391, jcservices@jud.ca.gov.

Before nominating someone, please ascertain that the nominee is interested and is available to serve if selected. Self-nominations are highly encouraged.

For additional information, please contact:

Carrie Zoller, Supervising Attorney
Center for Families, Children & the Courts, Operations & Programs Div.
Judicial Council of California
455 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102-3688
415-865-8829 |carrie.zoller@jud.ca.gov| www.courts.ca.gov