What is Court Watch?
Court Watch is a news site covering all the most interesting federal court filings, from search warrants, indictments, to everything in between. The goal is to report on overlooked court records and give readers direct access to primary source documents.
A bit about Court Watch. We have a weird knack for finding the unfindable in the byzantine federal court records system. Our reporting has been the basis of hundreds of national and local media outlets’ stories. We have ongoing joint reporting collaborations with 404 Media, Rolling Stone Magazine, Forbes, and Lawfare.
First some administrative points, Court Watch publishes a weekly newsletter every Friday. When interesting things drop in the court dockets, we also publish original standalone reporting, usually a story or two a week. Sometimes more, usually not less.
Our Reporters:
Seamus Hughes
Seamus Hughes has a career that spans journalism, academia, and government. Seamus Hughes is a senior research faculty member at University of Nebraska Omaha’s National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center (NCITE). In addition to his academic pursuits, he is the editor of Court Watch, an online news site that covers the federal court system that in the last two years has broken hundreds of national stories. Hughes also works as a research journalist at the New York Times, Bloomberg Law News, and Rolling Stone. In 2022, Hughes was part of a New York Times team that won a Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting for stories on law enforcement in America. Washingtonian Magazine named him one of the country’s most influential voices on national security. He can be reached by email.
Peter Beck
Peter Beck is a reporter at Court Watch. He recently graduated with honors from Davidson College, where he studied political science. Before Court Watch, Peter interned with public defender offices in his native South Carolina and with Radley Balko, an investigative journalist. He now lives in Washington, DC, and can be reached by email.
Recognition
“I learned about the story from Court Watch whose work I read and subscribe to…everyone should subscribe!” – Jake Tapper, CNN
“[Court Watch] dedicating time to reading, digesting, and disseminating these records helps a ton of journalists.”- Joseph Cox, co-founder of 404 Media
“Hughes is a master of PACER” — WASHINGTON POST
“[Court Watch] is credited for discovering some of the most high profile indictments of our time that could have very easily been overlooked”— CBS NEWS
“The existence of the indictment became known only after [Court Watch] who closely tracks court cases, discovered the document.” — NEW YORK TIMES
“...A researcher and a renowned expert at scouring unsealed court filings for overlooked news” — POLITICO
“no shit, uncontested expert” [when it comes to federal court filings, with an] “ability to navigate this arcane system and turn it into absolute journalism gold.” - Former Rolling Stone editor-in-chief Noah Shactman
“The warrant, which marks the first time a suspect has been publicly named, was first obtained by Seamus Hughes...who mines federal court databases.” — ASSOCIATED PRESS
“An expert on national security court cases.”— ABC NEWS
“Search Savant: This guy keeps finding news in obscure court documents.” — WASHINGTONIAN MAGAZINE
“Their research and investigative work has repeatedly broken news that the press would have otherwise missed” — COLUMBIA JOURNALISM REVIEW
Why subscribe?
Paid subscribers get full access to past newsletters that go behind a paywall for free subscribers after one week. Most importantly, the subscription will help offset the PACER fees, which we can all agree is a racket.
Quite simply, given the thousands of dollars of PACER quarterly fees we incur with our reporting, this site can not survive without paid subscribers.
Additionally, for a limited time, if you become a founding member, you get an online zoom training by us on how to traverse the federal court system. We’ll work with you to set a time that works best for both of us. For monthly paid subscribers, every quarter We’ll pick a random subscriber to get a free training so hit that subscribe button.
Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) is one of the main conduits for accessing federal court records. Unfortunately, it is a labyrinth to navigate. With over 319 million individual case files, a single PACER search could either yield no results or thousands. Through years of experience with the system, we have developed a proven method to traverse the online system and identify new cases before they have become national and international news. The results have been featured in the New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, Reuters, National Public Radio, NBCNews, ABCNews, CBSNews, CNN, FoxNews, and MSNBC.
Subscribe to get full access to the newsletter and website. Never miss an update.
If you would prefer to do a one time payment to support Court Watch, please feel free to Venmo at SeamusHughes
Report for CourtWatch?
Long time readers will recognize a recurring theme, we care deeply about federal court reporting. And quite frankly, we don’t think there’s enough of it. We also believe that there are plenty of unreported local stories that have national importance. So Court Watch seeks to change that. Court Watch commissions freelance pieces from reporters on the topic of federal court proceedings. If that’s you, drop us a note. If you’re a national reporter who has a story that perhaps you knew was a story but your editor passed, we would be interested. Or if you're one of the far-too-many reporters who was let go recently due to media cuts, use us as an opportunity to continue reporting until you find your next gig. Pitch us.
Length: 500-1000 words
Requirement: Fact based, original reporting that is complimented, augmented, or expanded by federal court records. We lean towards exclusive reporting, but can be convinced to commission a piece on a topic that has been reported on previously as long as the pieces has new reporting that advances the story in a meaningful way. Court Watch does not commission opinion pieces at this time.
Rate: $300 a piece.
Send us a pitch here
Last Note
Court Watch is not associated with any other for-profit or non-profit programs or initiatives that seek to monitor court proceedings. Though, we welcome any group or organization that seeks to increase transparency in the court system.