Court watching is a way to hold your district attorneys (DAs) accountable for the decisions they make in the court room. By attending court hearings and documenting what happens, you will gain a better understanding of how the decisions DAs make every day impact members of our communities. It also helps us push for changes in the policies and practices that lead to major racial disparities, excessive punishments, and over-incarceration.

Attend our training to learn the basics of court watching, including how the Massachusetts criminal courts work and what to look for while you’re in the courtroom.

This training is part of the “What a Difference a DA Makes” campaign’s 5-5-5 efforts. Over 5 months, 5 organizations will host court watch trainings in 5 counties across the state. This May 6 training will take place in Hampden County and is hosted by the ACLU of Massachusetts, Mass Bail Fund, Families for Justice as Healing, National Lawyers’ Guild, Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

These trainings are free and open to the public. All are welcome. Sign up for court here!

Did you know the Boston Police Department has used drones, license plate readers, surveillance cameras, and social media surveillance software? Did you know that the Department bought many of these technologies without the knowledge or consent of the people of Boston, or our elected representatives on the Boston City Council?

It's time for community control over police surveillance!

The Public Safety Committee of the Boston City Council will hold a hearing to discuss the ACLU's push for a surveillance oversight ordinance. The ACLU model ordinance requires accountability, transparency, and meaningful community input about whether the city can purchase surveillance technology and how it is used. For more information and resources, go to https://aclum.org/ccops.

The Public Safety Committee needs to hear from you! Please come to the hearing to give public comment (three minutes max), and/or submit a written comment to the Committee by emailing both ccc.psj@boston.gov and Ron.Cobb@boston.gov. Written comments can be as long as you like. Please cite docket #0264 in your written comment.

If you have any questions about the comment process or the hearing itself, please contact Olivia Santoro at osantoro@aclum.org.