The judiciary is less open to citizen influence, but even it offers opportunities. Citizens can:

• Participate in Friend-of-the-Court (Amicus) briefs.
  
• File, threaten, or cooperate in a lawsuit.
  
• Take part in an appeals process. Or,
  
• Serve as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA), Guardian Ad Litem - or similar program associated with the courts.

The Judiciary is rightly thought of as the branch of government least susceptible to citizen influence, but that is true chiefly in terms of traditional lobbying. We cannot (and should not) try to lobby judges. But that is not the only way for citizens to have an impact through the courts. Lawsuits, complaints, and Friend-of-the-Court briefs are all useful tools.

A lawsuit forced the Social Security Administration to include autism, mental impairments, and other severe disabilities in children as grounds for Supplemental Security Income eligibility. Because advocates spoke up and refused to be brushed aside (the effort took seven years), over half-a-million children from families with modest incomes now get help.

At the local level, sometimes the threat of a lawsuit is enough to get action - for example, from a school district that is dragging its feet under IDEA (the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) and refusing to mainstream children with disabilities.

Or, citizens can file complaints if they believe a law is being ignored. Citizen complaints have resulted in better action on child/adult abuse reports, more thorough investigations by nursing home licensing bodies, and increased access to public transportation for people with physical limitations.

Sometimes the best vehicle for judicial participation is by filing, or agreeing to sign onto, a Friend-of-the-Court brief which lays out the views of people with direct knowledge of the impact a Court decision is likely to have. E.g., Courts at all levels want to get a broad spectrum of public opinion on the right-to-die issue from religious, consumer, and advocacy organizations - particularly as more cases involving the terminally ill and people in "a persistent vegetative state," move through the courts.

And advocates can help others go through an administrative appeals process whenever they feel a benefit has been unfairly denied by the wording or application of the relevant regulations. Appeals of benefit denials are won far more often when a knowledgeable advocate accompanies a claimant. And while it is possible to get help from a legal services or legal aid office, the advocate in an appeal need not be a lawyer or even a paralegal - knowledgeable advocates come from many backgrounds.