The Court Watchers

A national movement to keep courts accountable.

CHALLENGE

Injustice happens in empty courtrooms. It is written into the U.S. constitution that public access to courts is a constitutional right, but due to lack of knowledge, time constraints, transportation, and other obstacles, almost no-one ever does. Everyday, justice is undermined, but most often they happen with no-one holding court actors accountable.

One of the only positive developments for Justice was increased public access to the courts through virtual court watch during the pandemic. With access comes accountability.

With the creation and growth of court watch and virtual court watch programs around the country, hundreds of trained volunteers, from students to seniors, have been able to witness, with intention and expertise, the numerous daily decisions made by prosecutors and judges that devastate the people who are over-policed, over-criminalized, and over-prosecuted. These court watchers have been able to hold power accountable by writing reports, accountability letters, and sharing on social media. Their presence alone is also powerful.

Not surprisingly, courts are now trying to shut down virtual court watching. Using the “opening of courts” and the “need to return to normal” as an excuse. Yet expanding access to courts by virtual court watching is the only way to ensure justice is taking place in our courthouses. We should be inviting, not limiting access.

SOLUTION

Zealous, and their local Court Watching partners in Prince George’s County, MD, called on Variant Strategies (in partnership with MediaTank Productions and Fluor Films) to help launch a national education and action campaign to raise awareness about the importance of open public access to courts, drive more people to volunteer for existing court watch programs, and help expand and build court watching programs in jurisdictions where they are less present.

The centerpiece of the campaign:  A short, graphic-novel-style animated film scored (her first ever) by singer Fiona Apple and narrated by actor Jesse Williams — “The Court Watchers” — which highlights the experiences of court watchers across the country and tells an optimistic story about how this form of accountability is a racial and social justice imperative to encourage people to join the movement. 

OVERVIEW

The Court Watchers, co-produced and co-directed by Variant Strategies, is a unique graphic novel style animation that tells the story of Carmen Johnson, who was herself incarcerated, and then became an avid Courtwatcher on her own. CourtwatchPG went from one volunteer to 200 volunteers over the course of the  pandemic. There are Courtwatch organizations around the country but Courtwatch PG is the biggest and has had the most impact on keeping their courts accountable. The film and the campaign seek to not only educate people about Court Watching but build an army of Court Watchers around the country. 

Impact

Since the film’s launch on 2/16/23, there have been hundreds of thousands of views of the film, thousands of visits to the site and a feature article in the Washington Post. There was also a Washington Post Live interview with Fiona Apple and Carmen Johnson, and a growing body of earned media. The film was awarded two Anthem awards in innovation from the International Academy for Digital Arts and Sciences. Stay tuned for a Washington Post Reports podcast episode with these folks soon. You can also read more about our work in Upworthy, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Fader, and Stereogum.

Variant Strategies co-directed the video with MediaTank for Zealous. Illustrated by Fluor Films.