Digital Court Watching: Holding the System Accountable From Anywhere

Interested in court watching but can’t make it to the courthouse?

Gone are the days where you have to sit on a hard courtroom bench to be a court watcher. With the rise of digital access to court records, I am here to tell you my dear friends, that remote accountability is possible.

Enter my method of choice: digital court watching.

This emerging form of civic engagement allows everyday people to monitor and document what’s happening within our justice system, often from the comfort of your own home. It’s a tool for transparency, oversight, and empowerment …and it’s so much easier to get started than you might think.

What is Digital Court Watching?

Digital court watching is the practice of observing judicial proceedings or reviewing court records to identify patterns of injustice, inefficiency, or bias in the legal system. Traditionally, this has been done in person, but many jurisdictions now offer online access to dockets, filings, audio transcripts, and sometimes even livestreams or video recordings of hearings.

Through digital tools, activists, researchers, journalists, and community members can:

Track outcomes of bail and sentencing hearings
Monitor how often prosecutors offer plea deals (Spoiler alert: a lot)
Identify how often diversion programs are used
See which judges routinely deny bond or delay hearings
Identify patterns in case dismissals or charging decisions (like I did here)
Document disparities across race, class, or geography

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If a judge is working hard to hide one thing, there’s typically a long history of misconduct. I found so much more than I bargained for, to include multiple broken plea deals, disproportionate sentencing, hidden Judicial Tenure Commission complaints, and a long history of biasing cases through media coverage.

I’ve gotten so good at analyzing the data, that based on historical patterns, I can tell you what the Judge’s next move will be. For example, being able to keep track of Schipper’s over-sentencing habits and treatment of defendants with court-appointed attorneys has allowed me to help others avoid the pitfalls.

…And everything was accessible online through news articles and court records.

Why Court Watching Matters

The courtroom may be “public,” but public access is meaningless without real transparency. And when Michigan courts and judges purposely block access to records, it makes it that much harder to get anywhere.

Digital court watching helps bridge that gap by allowing people to:

Spot patterns of abuse or bias that might otherwise stay hidden
Support advocacy campaigns with documented evidence
Hold public officials accountable; from prosecutors to judges
Push for policy reform with data and lived realities

In short, it shifts power by shifting visibility, putting court’s actions in the public eye (right where it should be).

How to Start Digital Court Watching

Finding a case may start with seeing hearings in person go horribly wrong (as it did for me), finding out about them in the media, or even a random record search.

Whatever puts a case on your radar, you’ll have some footwork to do to get to the bottom of the case and start collecting data.

Find the Right Portal. Most state and local courts offer an online portal for searching case information. Search for “[Your County/State] court records” or “judiciary case search.” Popular platforms include:
Search by Name, Case Number, or Judge. This allows you to track:
- A specific case of interest
- All cases heard by a particular judge
- Trends in how plea deals or sentences are handled by a prosecutor
Keep a Log. Document the case number, date, judge, charges, outcome, bond decisions, and any observations. Spreadsheets work great for this. Some groups even create shared logs for community projects.
Look for Red Flags. Because you WILL find them. Smaller counties such as Barry, Branch, Cass, and Van Buren are the WORST in constitutional violations because they don’t think anyone is watching them. Be alert to patterns like:
- Excessive bail amounts, fines, and fees. Van Buren County Judge Michael McKay, for example, sets unconstitutional bail amounts. In one case, the person – who had ZERO criminal history, by the way – got hit with a $750,000 bond rather than putting the person on tethered community supervision; it bankrupted the defendant’s family and shuttered their business when there was no threat to public safety.
- Delays in hearings. Ahem, failure to file writs, anyone? It’s a stall tactic used to kick the can down the road for hearings.
- Frequent probation violations leading to incarceration. It helps small county courts make money and look busier than they really are, allowing them to expand their courthouse and judge seats.
- Inconsistent sentences for similar charges. Judge Schipper specifically gave a wealthy defendant 6 months in jail and offered her speaking engagements while he gave another 15 years for the exact same charges.
Share Your Findings Whether through social media threads, blog posts, or formal reports, your observations help educate the public and support reform efforts. Be sure to tag local advocacy groups because they may want to partner.
Respect Confidentiality Be mindful of sensitive details, especially in cases involving minors or trauma. Focus on public data and systemic issues, not sensationalism.

Tools That Help

CourtListener and RECAP (for scraping PACER data)
CaseText or Justia (for legal research)
FOIA tools like MuckRock for deeper document requests
Google Alerts on specific judges or keywords

Join a Collective Effort

Many grassroots groups and people from all walks of life are already doing this work, such as the coolest court watcher ever, Fiona Apple (thanks again, Mickey!!)

Consider joining or collaborating with:

Local court watching coalitions
Legal aid or public defender allies (Hello, Kalamazoo Defender!)
Criminal justice reform organizations
University research projects
Family Advocacy groups (such as Michigan Citizens for Prison Reform)

Final Thoughts

I consider digital court watching a way for me to contribute to society; a modern-day civic duty. In a system that too often operates in the shadows, your screen becomes the light in the darkness. It demands no law degree or press credentials; just curiosity, compassion, and a commitment to justice.

Watch wisely. Watch often. Justice is public; let’s keep it that way.