Skip to direct links for: Criminal Court Training | Immigration Court Training
We currently offer training (one, one-hour session) for both LA Superior Court criminal hearings and Federal Immigration hearings. Please read below for more information and sign-up links.
LA Superior Court: Criminal Court Hearings
Are you interested in building community power and holding judges accountable? If so, join our court watching training and volunteer with La Defensa’s Courtwatch LA program! After the training, you will be able to walk into any criminal courtroom in LA county with the skills you need to report your observations. By signing up for this training, you will be added to the Court Watch mailing list. You can unsubscribe at any time.
NOTE: Please make sure to arrive to the training on time. We will not be letting anyone into the training past the 15-minute mark.
Register for an Upcoming Criminal Court Training
Training dates associated with the above link are:
August 19, September 29, October 27, and November 17, 2026.
Orientation training requires only one of these one-hour sessions.
Federal Immigration Court Accompaniment
Are you ready to stand with your community?
Court Watch LA — a program of La Defensa — is hosting a free training for community members who want to: Observe and document immigration court hearings (in-person and via Webex); and accompany community members to their immigration court dates and ICE check-ins.
Court watching is one of the most powerful judicial accountability tools we have. When communities show up and bear witness, judges behave differently, due process becomes harder to ignore, and people navigating a frightening system know they are not alone. This training will prepare you to do exactly that.
What you’ll learn:
- How the immigration court system works and what to expect in the courtroom
- How to safely access immigration court hearings in person and via Webex –
- How to take effective notes and document what you observe
- How to accompany community members to court dates and ICE check-ins and what that role looks like in practice.
After completing this training, you will be eligible to volunteer as a court watcher and to be called upon to accompany migrants who request community presence for their cases. By registering, you will be added to the Court Watch LA mailing list. You can unsubscribe at any time. Please arrive on time. We will not be letting anyone into the training past the 15-minute mark This is community power in action. We hope to see you there. Questions? Contact us at info@courtwatchla.org
NOTE: Please make sure to arrive to the training on time. We will not be letting anyone into the training past the 15-minute mark.