NCJW Court Watch
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In 1994, the National Council of Jewish Women,
Louisville Section, (NCJW)
began a new community service project, "Court Watch," which now serves as
a model for other cities across the United States. The purpose is to determine if victims of domestic violence are being treated fairly by the court process, to evaluate the effectiveness of statutes, and to raise community awareness of relationship violence. Trained to understand the dynamics of this specific kind of violence as well as the legal process, nearly 100 women and men have volunteered over 6000 hours to monitor domestic violence cases in Jefferson County courts. Documenting statements, behaviors, and attitudes that they observed in the court room, the volunteers gathered specific data that is being analyzed to determine whether the current court system is effectively dealing with the issues of domestic violence. NCJW recently testified about their observations and concerns regarding the court system at the public hearing of the Civil Remedies Committee and the Criminal Justice Committee of the Governor's Council on Domestic Violence. NCJW has also sponsored numerous round table discussions, study groups, and public programs with experts in the field of domestic violence and the legal profession. NCJW, Louisville Section, has developed other well known community service programs such as CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates), Kentucky Youth Advocates (KYA) and Bridgehaven. Connie Fox and Diane Graeter are the Co-Chairs of the Court Watch project; Shellie Benovitz is the President of NCJW.
Please visit the NCJW, Louisville, Court Watch Page at www.ctwatch.com.
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