District Attorney’s Office Announces “Court-Watch Training” This Weekend

Citizen-Oversight Initiative Kicks Off with Training Workshop

Atlanta-District Attorney Paul L. Howard, Jr. (Atlanta Judicial Circuit) announces that his Office’s Community Prosecution Program will sponsor a “Court-Watch Training Workshop” on Saturday, 5 March, beginning at 9 AM. The workshop will take place in Courtroom 1-D of the Fulton County Justice Center Tower at 185 Central Avenue, SW. The workshop is designed to educate community members interested in participating in a planned Court-Watch initiative about the process a criminal case goes through from arrest to final disposition. Training will cover everything from the relationship between law enforcement and the court system to the steps involved in conducting a criminal trial. Attendees will also learn key legal terminology in order to help them understand the criminal justice process. “Citizen participation is integral to the functioning of a free and open society such as our own,” says Mr. Howard. “We are delighted to assist the community in taking a more active role as overseers of the criminal justice function, which goes on every day here in the courthouse in the interest of the greater good.”

The Court-Watch initiative is the direct result of citizen input and interaction with the District Attorney’s Community Prosecution Program. As a bridge between the community and the District Attorney’s Office, the Community Prosecution Program, which began with one office in July 2000 and has now expanded to three offices throughout the City of Atlanta, took on the responsibility of assisting citizens in establishing a mechanism for monitoring the court system. Citizens interested in attending the workshop or desiring more information on the Court-Watch initiative should contact Pierre Russell at 404.699.5294.

The District Attorney’s Office thanks Judge Bensonetta Tipton Lane and the Fulton County Sheriff’s Department for their assistance in making this training possible.

CONTACT: Erik Friedly, 404.224.0560 (office); 770.583.6069 (pager); erik.friedly@co.fulton.ga.us