Court Monitoring

What is court monitoring?

Court monitoring is a successful way for any community to improve its courts.

Court monitoring groups share a common goal: to ensure the courts are fair and just.

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Why monitor the courts?

• It is the only way the public can know what is going on and be a voice for change.
  
• The legal system plays a big role dealing with violence in our society, and must be accountable for its actions.
• Monitoring tells everyone in the justice system that the public cares.  

A judge had this to say about WATCH, “They hold up a mirror [to us]…and sometimes we don’t like what we see.”

How does monitoring work?

• By training community volunteers to observe and take note on what happens in court.
  
• Using these day-to-day observations to document problem patterns. 
  
• Bringing the problems forward and pushing the court to improve.
  

CONTACT US: 612-341-2747; watch@watchmn.org; 608 Second Ave. South, Suite 465, Minneapolis, MN 55402