Dear Pamela,
Every day in courtrooms across the country, decisions about people's lives are made in just minutes. Judges may handle dozens of cases in a single day, making decisions about pretrial detention, bail, and sentencing. These decisions have massive implications, yet what happens inside the courtroom often remains hidden from public view.
Court watchers help change that.
With criminal justice and immigration reform facing unprecedented threats, court watching is a way to spotlight inequities and injustices to hold power accountable.
Court watchers are people, many of whom are trained volunteers, who attend court hearings and document what they see. The information they collect may be used to expose problematic practices or drive reform efforts.
Anyone and everyone can court watch. Learn more now.
Court watchers can—and do—change behaviors both in the courtroom and outside of it. The Philadelphia Bail Watch has documented hearings since 2018, and their visible presence has an impact. The group has found that its presence in court can influence magistrates to set bail less frequently. That means fewer people were forced to remain in jail simply because they could not pay for their freedom.
We should all be pushing for transparency and accountability in our justice systems. |
Thank you for being with us in this fight,
Vera Institute of Justice |
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