Lulu Abdun is a recent college graduate. Carmen Purdy is a retired Memphis teacher who taught for 42 years. Both are now court watchers.

They were among a group of 10 people who gathered on a recent Saturday morning to learn how to observe what happens inside courtrooms at 201 Poplar.

Court Watch Memphis was launched in December by Just City, a local nonprofit criminal justice advocacy group that has volunteers observe court proceedings from arraignments to trials. 

“This isn't just a ‘who done it’ and ‘I got ya’, but we also want to highlight some things that public defenders, attorneys and judges are doing really well,” Joia Thornton, Just City’s program coordinator, told the volunteers during their training session at the Epicenter in Cooper Young. “What we believe is the court watch is there to give a new perspective and hopefully starting to ask more questions about criminal justice and our legal system.”

That’s what 21-year-old Abdun, who recently graduated from Miami University in Ohio, was hoping for when she saw Just City’s tweet about Court Watch.

“I majored in psychology, but I was always interested in criminal justice and prison-reform issues,” Abdun said. “So when I saw Court Watch on Twitter, I signed up because I believe change comes in little steps.”

During the one-day training session, volunteers learned how Court Watch works. They can team up with other volunteers when they go to court proceedings. One volunteer will be designated as the lead watcher, and their job is to track data such as race, gender, charges and bail of the defendants of cases they are assigned to watch. The other volunteers will observe and write down their observations of the court proceedings.

Josh Spickler, executive director of Just City, said Court Watch will allow volunteers to see the “grit and grind” of the local criminal justice system.

“Our goal is to put eyeballs, ears and noses too, on display at Court Watch,” Spickler said. “Some things may not pass the smell test, and we want you to write down your observations and anecdotes.”

Court watchers are asked to volunteer once a month. They get to pick either Tuesday mornings or Friday afternoons to sit in and monitor an arraignment in one of the general sessions courtrooms, a trial in criminal court or proceedings in one of the specialty courts including drug court or domestic violence court.

Thornton, Just City’s program coordinator, reminded the volunteers that when they are in court, they are to abide by the rules of that court at all times.

They will be identified as official court watchers by the black-and-white “Just City Court Watch” buttons they are asked to wear at all times when they are in court.

“You are an independent observer. Not an attorney, legal adviser or an employee of the court,” Thornton said. “But with that said, what do the kids say, ‘#nofilter’, well we want to know what is going on in the courtroom.’’

In December, Just City trained its first court watchers. With the newest group, along with college student volunteers, there are 21 court watchers in the program. The hope is to have 100 court watchers by the end of the year.

For retired special-needs teacher Purdy, being a court watcher is a family affair. Her sister volunteered in December. At the urging of her niece, Thornton, who coordinates the court watch program, Purdy decided to volunteer as well.

“I have an interest in juveniles in our justice system and that they are treated fairly,” Purdy said about volunteering for the program.

Just City began a version of Court Watch last year in Juvenile Court with “participatory defense” to make sure families of the children knew how court worked and how to get legal help. 

Then in December, Just City trained its first volunteers and Court Watch in Memphis was officially started.

Memphis’ Court Watch is modeled on similar programs in New York and Massachusetts. One of the oldest Court Watch programs in the country is Court Watch NOLA in New Orleans, launched in 2007 after Hurricane Katrina. The program has trained more than 1,000 volunteers and watched approximately 13,000 court cases, according to its website.

“Our goal is to put eyeballs, ears and noses too, on display at Court Watch.”
Josh Spickler, executive director of Just City

In Memphis, the information gathered by the court watchers will be put on Just City’s blog. If they ferret out any issues, they can then lobby lawmakers for changes in the system like they did recently with expungement fees.

Spickler told the volunteers expungement fees were $450; if a new bill is approved by legislators, the state fee for expungements would be eliminated. In Shelby County, the total cost with local fees to expunge criminal records would drop to about $100.

“We are really excited about this,” Spickler said. “Court Watch programs promote transparency and accountability. They provide insight into mass incarceration, help end the criminalization of poverty, and address racial and ethnic disparities within the criminal legal system. These are our goals. This is Court Watch."

Anyone interested in Court Watch can visit courtwatch.justcity.org.