Judicial Intern and Volunteer Program

The following two types of positions are available:

SELF HELP CENTER ASSISTANT VOLUNTEERS provide information to self-represented litigants. Attorneys, law students and paralegals are encouraged to apply. Contact Human Resources (telephone 408-882-2725) for more information.

JUDICIAL INTERNS work with or provide research support for a judge or court program (law students and selected college students). To qualify candidates must be enrolled in a college degree program that is related to the internship. Interns must have the required skills and educational background for the position. In many cases, interns will receive credit toward their degree, but in all cases the internships are designed to provide relevant experiential learning in one or more of the courts program departments.

Activities of Judicial Interns vary by program. Some typical activities by program are:

• “Law Clerk” Internships – Interns work with a judge on the cases, issues, and programs of that judge and the specific department. Law school students only.
• Legal Research Internships – Interns work with the court’s research attorneys to provide legal research support to judicial officers. These internships are limited to 2nd and 3rd year law students.
• Program Research Internships – Positions can be in any area of the court where collection, analysis and reporting of information is an objective. Graduate students in various social science fields, law students and upper division undergraduates in some cases.
• Management Internships/Administrative or Operations  – Internships in the administrative or operational aspects of the court are sometimes available for students in appropriate fields such as business administration, accounting, computer science and so on.
• Other Internships – The courts are committed to providing internship opportunities that afford students the chance to learn-by-doing while giving the courts the benefits of youthful and energetic assistance. Additional internships will be announced whenever they are defined.

Time Commitment and Hours of Service:

Interns generally are asked to commit for a minimum of three months and at least 16 hours per week; however, this is flexible. The hours of service are normally court hours (8 am - 5 pm), but may vary. Interns are expected to work shifts of not less than 4 hours.

To Apply for a Judicial Internship

Read the descriptions for the Intern I and Intern II, complete and print the appropriate application (Intern I app, Intern II app), and mail it to:

Superior Court Human Resources Intern & Volunteer Program
191 N. First Street
San Jose, CA 95113

Contact Human Resources (telephone 408-882-2725) for more information.