Community. Accountability. Justice.
CourtWatch MA will shift the power dynamics in our courts by opening the courtroom to public scrutiny.
CourtWatch MA will document and publicize the decisions judges and prosecutors make every day about members of our communities. We will use what we witness in court to push for changes in the policies and practices that lead to rampant racial disparities, excessive prosecutions, and hyper-incarceration.
We will hold prosecutors and judges accountable.
CourtWatch MA relies on the people power of volunteers across the state who are committed to challenging racism and the punitive culture of our court system. Our project is modeled after our comrades in New York City and Chicago.
Judges and prosecutors rarely face scrutiny for the decisions they make everyday that drastically impact people's lives. District Attorneys are elected officials who set the criminal punishment policy in their county - and elections are happening in November 2018. As prosecutors make campaign promises, we'll be there to see what really goes on in court.
Residents deserve data about what's happening where they live and we aren't getting it.
CourtWatch MA is a collective effort led by ACLU Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Bail Fund, the National Lawyers Guild - MA, the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and Families for Justice as Healing. We launched this project as a cornerstone of the ACLU's of Massachusetts’ "What a Difference a DA Makes" initiative.
