San Jose Students Establish National Court-Watching Program, Receive Congressional Commendation
A group of San Jose high school students, including Ariana Corbu, Ian Gao, Ishani Manral, and Apurva Tadimeti, founded 'Justice For All,' a court-watching program that has expanded into a national network. The program, which began with the students observing court proceedings in Santa Clara County, now involves over 350 students across five states, including Dallas and New York City, and has monitored more than 3,000 court cases. The students' initiative has garnered commendations from the San Jose City Council and Congress, specifically from Representative Sam Liccardo. Their work involves meticulously documenting court proceedings, observing judicial conduct, and tracking trends related to bail decisions, interpreter access, and potential biases. They use self-created forms to collect data, which is then compiled into spreadsheets to analyze shortcomings in the justice system, such as language barriers, racial disparities in pretrial release, and the handling of mental illness.
