#CareNotCages

Why We Courtwatch

 

Courtwatch DC is a growing DC-based program that provides the space and training for the community to observe local court proceedings in the District of Columbia and document our city’s policies in action and to hold judicial actors accountable for injustice in the court system. Courtwatch DC is powered by Harriet’s Wildest Dreams, with support from Defund MPD and the ACLU-DC, and was founded and led by formerly incarcerated Black women.

Courtwatching is a form of mutual aid. Inspired by Courtwatch PG, we strive to ensure that our community of courtwatchers is multigenerational, multiracial, anti-racist, and moving towards an abolitionist future.

VOLUNTEER ORIENTATION

Join us for our Courtwatch Volunteer Orientation bi-weekly on Thursdays. We will be going into details on how to watch the courts. We will identify key gatekeepers of justice in the courtroom and how their actions impact pretrial release. There will also be an opportunity to watch the court remotely immediately following the orientation.

From protecting this essential right to watching the courts and analyzing and sharing the data we collect, there are many ways to get involved with Courtwatch DC. Please email idabfree@harrietsdreams.org for more information to get involved. 

Sign Up
 

Goals

  • Courthouse of the District of Columbia

    Real Information

    Gathering real-time, objective data that will illuminate patterns and long-term trends in the DC Court System.

  • Build it.

    Letting DC officials know that the public is paying attention to judicial practices.

  • Grow it.

    Creating an informed and involved public by educating communities about the court system.

Court Watch is mutual aid.

The criminal legal system can be challenging to navigate and even more difficult to overcome but this is the work. Slowly chipping away year by year, person by person and policy by policy.

Due to the presence of family and court supporters we calculated over 10 years saved from incarceration.


Injustice happens in empty courtrooms.
It doesn’t have to be this way anymore.

“Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty, and it does seem to me that notwithstanding all these social agencies and activities there is not that vigilance which should be exercised in the preservation of our rights.” - Ida B. Wells

“One of the most vital ways we sustain ourselves is by building communities of resistance, places where we know we are not alone.” - bell hooks

Read about some of our 2022 results

2022 was a special year for Courtwatch DC. Officially launching the program, training volunteers, and watching the courts – we have a lot to be proud of.