The goal of Court Watch is to monitor, evaluate and report outcomes of the local Criminal Justice System in felony DUI cases.

Court Watch is a program that is designed to evaluate the courts via “Court Monitors.”  The presence of community volunteer Court Watchers sends a clear message to judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and court staff.  We care what happens and Court Watch does make a difference. 

The presence of Court Monitors serves to:

     Track offenders during the criminal justice process

     Plot trends in punishment and case outcomes

     Report findings to community media and agency website

     Send the message that “we care” about our victims

Court Watch has been implemented because it is:

     Proven to work

     Cost effective

     Improve the courts

     Educate the community

     Ensure victim’s rights

     Response to community outcry

     Minimize driving while under the influence

The Court Watch program utilizes community volunteers as “Court Monitors” to document the outcomes of the DUI sentences.  The simple act of the presence of volunteer Court Monitors sitting in the courtroom has shown to produce:

     Higher conviction rates

     Increased guilty pleas

     Decreased plea agreements

     Decreased dismissals

This program is vital to the community and the families that this agency serves.  This program holds the courts accountable.  The necessity of a Court Watch Program for cases involving felony DUI cases is apparent in the increasing numbers of DUI cases before the courts.  The DUI Victim Center of Kansas is well suited to develop and implement an in-depth Court Watch Program due to its permanence in the community.  This agency has monitored the courts in some capacity for more than 17 years. 

The Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) has provided this agency with the grant that funds this program.  The vision of this program includes expanding our current Court Watch efforts, collecting data on DUI stops and ultimately, researching and analyzing the data collected by the Court Monitors in order to provide information to our community about the outcomes of felony DUI sentences and Administrative DL Hearings.  This program is an additional service to the victims we serve and is in response to community outcry. 

         ADVOCATE * TAKE A STAND * MAKE A DIFFERENCE * SPEAK OUT * JOIN COURT WATCH TODAY!