Demystifying Legal System for Latinos

Mexican Consul Luz Elena Bueno Zirion says the calls come into her office daily.

A Latina mother is desperate to get help for a disabled child. A wife wants to know what she can do about a husband who is beating her. A parent doesn’t know how to enroll a child in school.

And many, many more Latinos are confused about their new country’s complex legal system, firing off questions ranging from what to do about a traffic ticket to how to bail someone out of jail.

To answer these questions and many others, Zirion and Sheriff Bob Brooks have teamed up to offer a conference explaining the U.S. justice system and to highlight available social services.

“People from Mexico come here and it is not easy to understand the system,” said Zirion, whose office is in Oxnard. “We get a lot of calls asking for help because, say, they just got a ticket and they don’t understand what’s going on. They don’t know the driving laws and don’t know why they got a ticket.”

It’s an effort to reach out to Ventura County’s fastest-growing population, which, according to preliminary Census Bureau estimates, has jumped about 35% since 1990 and makes up about a third of the county’s households. That growth is expected to continue, jumping another 142% by the year 2040, the bureau’s research shows.

“It’s important for us to help them,” Brooks said, “and show them how they can be successful while they are here. A lot of times we find people are afoul of the law just because they don’t understand it.”

The Informational Conference for the Spanish-Speaking Community, as it is called, is set for Oct. 17 at Robert Frank Elementary School in Oxnard. All classes will be held in Spanish and focus on topics including Latino culture in California, education and social services.

Several representatives from the Sheriff’s Department will talk about law enforcement issues, such as an arrestee’s rights, police procedures for domestic disputes and traffic stops, car insurance requirements, how to fight a traffic ticket, and the court system.

Brooks also hopes conference participants will walk away with more trust in local law enforcement. Often, Brooks said, crimes go unreported because new Latino residents are afraid of authorities.

“Some are here from Central America, areas where they are involved in war,” Brooks said. “And a lot of times the police show up and they don’t know what’s going to happen. They don’t know if they can trust them.”

Those same fears are carried into the United States, Brooks said.

“But we find when we are in a face-to-face situation, when they see you and hear where you are coming from, it changes their perception.”

The idea for the conference sprang from a get-acquainted meeting between Zirion and Brooks. The pair acknowledged they face a lot of the same hurdles in trying to meet the needs of Latinos. They believed that by teaming up, they could make a bigger difference than by struggling separately.

“It’s important to be working with the sheriff,” Zirion said. “It’s important for them to see the sheriff is trying to help them.”

Zirion and Brooks are hoping to spark enough interest in the conference to draw at least 100 people. To help spread the word, consulate workers plan to send fliers home with schoolchildren, and more notices will be posted in local churches and at the consulate office in Oxnard.

If the conference is successful, more will be scheduled, Brooks said.

The conference, running from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., is free, and lunch and day care will be provided.