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Our History
Our program had its beginnings in 2004 when Ann Lickteig, a victim of domestic violence, saw that the criminal justice system failed to effectively prosecute her batterer for a brutal attack that required several hours of neurosurgery. He was found not guilty.
As a result of her experience, Ann vowed to monitor the courts so that other victims of domestic violence would not suffer a similar fate. She joined the Orange County Domestic Violence Task Force and served as its co-chair. During that time, she met Laura S. Williams, another survivor of domestic violence who shared Ann's interest in the judicial system.
Laura, a former client of Harbor House, has been a Speaker's Bureau volunteer since 1998. In 1996, her estranged husband fatally shot their 2-year-old daughter Sarah before he committed suicide. Unlike Ann, every encounter Laura had with the judicial system was a positive one (well, as positive as it can be when you're going through a contentious divorce!). Because of her willingness to speak out about domestic violence, she was invited to participate in Orange County's DV and Child Abuse Commission (2003-2005) and the Commission's Implementation Team (2005-2007). It was during this time that she joined the DV Task Force and became involved with establishing a court monitoring program.
CourtWatch Florida began as a subcommittee of the Orange County Domestic Violence Task Force and was incorporated in 2007. We monitor DV, sexual assault, and child abuse cases to make sure the system holds perpetrators accountable and doesn't re-victimize the victims. We are a member of the National Association of Court Monitoring Programs. Our first training class was held April 2007 and we have now trained over 150 volunteers as CourtWatchers and monitored in excess of 7,000 hearings.
The Matrix of Greater Orlando initially served as an umbrella for us until we received our our own 501(c)(3) non-profit determination from the IRS in August, 2008. Everyone associated with CourtWatch (including the Executive Director) is a volunteer.
As a result of her experience, Ann vowed to monitor the courts so that other victims of domestic violence would not suffer a similar fate. She joined the Orange County Domestic Violence Task Force and served as its co-chair. During that time, she met Laura S. Williams, another survivor of domestic violence who shared Ann's interest in the judicial system.
Laura, a former client of Harbor House, has been a Speaker's Bureau volunteer since 1998. In 1996, her estranged husband fatally shot their 2-year-old daughter Sarah before he committed suicide. Unlike Ann, every encounter Laura had with the judicial system was a positive one (well, as positive as it can be when you're going through a contentious divorce!). Because of her willingness to speak out about domestic violence, she was invited to participate in Orange County's DV and Child Abuse Commission (2003-2005) and the Commission's Implementation Team (2005-2007). It was during this time that she joined the DV Task Force and became involved with establishing a court monitoring program.
CourtWatch Florida began as a subcommittee of the Orange County Domestic Violence Task Force and was incorporated in 2007. We monitor DV, sexual assault, and child abuse cases to make sure the system holds perpetrators accountable and doesn't re-victimize the victims. We are a member of the National Association of Court Monitoring Programs. Our first training class was held April 2007 and we have now trained over 150 volunteers as CourtWatchers and monitored in excess of 7,000 hearings.
The Matrix of Greater Orlando initially served as an umbrella for us until we received our our own 501(c)(3) non-profit determination from the IRS in August, 2008. Everyone associated with CourtWatch (including the Executive Director) is a volunteer.
Who Are We?
CourtWatchers are volunteers that represent a cross section of our Central Florida community. They come from a variety of backgrounds and may be retired, students or currently employed part or full-time. Our volunteers include those with backgrounds in engineering, medicine, psychology, teaching, sales, law enforcement, social work, local government, insurance, bookkeeping and others.
For more about our mission:
Volunteers are interviewed and screened by the Program Director before they are accepted into the program. Criteria used in selecting CourtWatchers include the following: neither they nor members of their families have been recent victims of violent crime, have been arrested nor convicted of a crime, nor have a case pending before the courts in which they observe.
As impartial observers of the judicial system, CourtWatchers document their observations and impressions. This information will be compiled and a report that details our findings will presented to the Court and the community.
CourtWatchers are volunteers that represent a cross section of our Central Florida community. They come from a variety of backgrounds and may be retired, students or currently employed part or full-time. Our volunteers include those with backgrounds in engineering, medicine, psychology, teaching, sales, law enforcement, social work, local government, insurance, bookkeeping and others.
For more about our mission:
Volunteers are interviewed and screened by the Program Director before they are accepted into the program. Criteria used in selecting CourtWatchers include the following: neither they nor members of their families have been recent victims of violent crime, have been arrested nor convicted of a crime, nor have a case pending before the courts in which they observe.
As impartial observers of the judicial system, CourtWatchers document their observations and impressions. This information will be compiled and a report that details our findings will presented to the Court and the community.
Our Mission
Empowering the community to positively impact the court system’s handling of domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse cases.
Our Philosophy
The justice system is accountable to the public. The public has a right to observe the process. We expect the judicial system to meet certain standards:
manner
public safety
Our Strategy
identify patterns of behavior and
obtain specific examples of larger
problems or issues
further research and report to the
Court and community
CourtWatch is NOT: