Fall CWNYC Updates + Trainings

Dear Court Watch Community,

This summer, we surpassed 10,000 arraignments observed by our court watchers since our relaunch in 2024. We are devastated that judges, prosecutors, cops and the entire court system continue to treat our communities with cruelty and disdain, sending people to Rikers Island, letting them die in custody, watching and laughing as they give birth in court. We mourn the fifth death in NYPD custody this year, a man in Brooklyn who had a medical emergency while waiting to be arraigned. 

We are also heartened by the number of community members who continue to push back against this horrific and unjust system by showing up in yellow shirts. Thank you to everyone who has taken our training, done a shift, or otherwise shown up for their neighbors.

We have TWO times for our Intro to CWNYC training this fall, including one during the weekday for folks who may not have been able to make our usual weeknight times. 

• Monday, September 28th 2-3:30 pm

• Tuesday September 29th 7:30-9 pm

These will both be the first session of our two-part CWNYC training series, covering a brief history of mass incarceration & abolition, the NYC court system, why criminal court watching is important and how you can get involved! After this training, you can also then sign up for the second session of our training, a tactical session that goes into detail on the logistics of how to join our arraignments watching campaign. You can sign up here!

If you’ve already taken our training, please consider forwarding this to a friend or two who might be interested in this work, and sharing our posts on Instagram and BlueSky!

In Solidarity,

CWNYC