Vanguard Court Watch, Bringing Social Justice to the Courtroom

A Court Watch Program has started in 2010, in Yolo County, the Vanguard Court Watch has sent college and other interns into the courthouse to monitor cases and hearings.  They enter data into monitor forms and write articles that posted on the Vanguard website. The truth is Yolo County suffers an imbalanced prosecutorial system.  The county is middle-tier in terms of crime rate and yet third in the state in per capita felony convictions prison sentences and tops in the state in per capita felony trials. People sent to prison for minor offenses, wrongfully convicted, or the victim of cash for convictions.

Court watch program is a belief that by shining a light on the court system, that can protect the rights of the accused and prevent wrongful convictions and prosecutorial misconduct. The Team belief that the court watch program needs to be expanded to every county in California and every state in the nation. This year they are looking to take the court watch program to the next level.  Professionalize it.  And then take it into Sacramento and San Francisco Counties.

The Team Goal

Monitor and report on wrongdoing in the courtroom through a court watch program.

• Expose police and prosecutorial misconduct.
• Bring transparency and accountability to the court system.
• Prevent wrongful convictions BEFORE THEY HAPPEN.
• Expand Court Watch in Yolo County.
• Launch Court Watch in Sacramento and San Francisco.

The last few years the issue of police misconduct, officer-involved shootings of unarmed men take the headlines.  But behind the scenes these are aided and abetted by unaccountable prosecutors. The court room is the frontline for a lot of these legal battles but for the most part the media do not cover any but the most high profile cases. Outside of a few high profile cases, the typical court case gets zero coverage and in most locations, even when there is coverage, it is not critical and detailed coverage. The result is that the police and prosecution often get away with all sorts of misconduct because the public has limited access to courtrooms de facto. The vast majority of trials are not coverage and more than 97 percent of all criminal matters are resolved before even going to trials. The public is unaware of the true nature of criminal and court proceedings.

David Greenwald has started a crowdfunding campaign in order to take the court watch program to the next level.  Professionalize it.

And then take it into Sacramento and San Francisco Counties.

Thank you! Please spread the word and help this project!
 
Check the link for more information:

https://www.gofundme.com/yolojustice