Advocacy
The bench works for the public. We’d like that in writing.
The app shows what judges do. Advocacy is about what they should have to do: publish, explain, and answer for it. This is what we are pushing for, and how you can help.
What we’re pushing for
Open family court decisions.
Family court decides more about more lives than almost any other court, and most of its decisions are never published. With children’s details redacted, they should be public by default, so the next family can see how this judge rules.
Judicial discipline, in public.
A complaint to a judicial conduct commission usually disappears. The person who filed it should learn what happened, and when a judge is disciplined, the public should know why.
The right to review a judge.
Rating how a public official does a public job is speech. Litigants should be able to say what happened in an open courtroom, and to say it without their name on it.
Somebody in the gallery.
An open courtroom only means something if someone is watching. We are building a network of court watchers, so what happens in a courtroom is seen by more than the people with a stake in it.
How you can help
- Rate your judge.Every rating makes the record harder to ignore. It takes two minutes, and your name can stay off it.Find your judge →
- Tell us your court story.What happened, in which court, in front of whom. We read every one, and nothing is published without your permission.Write to us →
- Send us a decision.A ruling the public should see. If it’s unsealed, we may read it on the podcast or post it with commentary.Send it →
- Watch a courtroom.Court is open to the public. Tell us your county and we’ll be in touch as the court-watching network grows.Volunteer →
Campaigns and legislation
Campaign updates and the bills we are tracking will be posted here. Until then, the blog and the podcast are where we say what we think.