The Albert Cobarrubias Justice Project (ACJP) in San Jose, California is a grass-roots community-based initiative supporting families of youth and adults at risk of prosecution in the juvenile, criminal justice, or immigration system. Participating families gather weekly to discuss cases, educate families on their rights, strategize, and apply pressure on public officials and on defense attorneys to resolve cases favorably. For example, ACJP helped the mother of Joshua Herrera mobilize hundreds of community members to convince a judge to no longer consider a life sentence for unfounded gang enhancement charges.
ACJP also launched and won a campaign to ensure that defendants have representation at all misdemeanor arraignment hearings. Previously, low income defendants were agreeing to plea bargains without consulting an attorney while not understanding the implications of their plea or even their basic rights to challenge inaccurate or false charges. As a result, many community members faced consequences regarding their immigration status, employment, housing, and other important aspects of maintaining a stable life that could have been avoided had they been offered and received competent counsel with an attorney. This is a change we San Jose community members can believe in and rely on thanks to ACJP contributing families.
Albert Cobarrubias Justice Project
