NCJ Number
173020
Journal
Judicature Volume: 80 Issue: 5 Dated: March-April 1997 Pages: 219-221
Date Published
1997
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article describes New York State's court watching program, which uses non-lawyer volunteers to observe and evaluate courthouse facilities and proceedings.
Abstract
In 1975 the nonprofit Fund for Modern Courts developed a program to give New York citizens a voice in how their courts are conducted. Groups of volunteers were formed across the State to observe court proceedings on a regular basis. The monitors assess the courts from the perspective of outsiders to the system and recommend improvements to make them more efficient and user- friendly. The monitors' findings and recommendations are published and released to court administrators, lawmakers, judges, bar associations, civic groups, and the media. Over the past 22 years, citizen court monitoring has been the centerpiece of the Fund for Modern Courts' effort to involve the public in improving the administration of justice in New York. Today, groups of volunteer court monitors number more than 600 and work in 17 New York counties. Some of the program's achievements are in-court child care facilities; the staggering of court calendars to shorten waiting times and reduce overcrowding; a mandatory civility training program for all nonjudicial court personnel; information kiosks in courthouse lobbies; the building of new courthouses; enhancement of the audibility of court proceedings; and increases in juror compensation.