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Giving New Yorkers a clearer look at the judges and courts that shape their lives

Winner

Oded Oren

Giving New Yorkers a clearer look at the judges and courts that shape their lives

Website

scrutinize.org

Year

2026

Organization

Scrutinize

Sector

Civics

Borough

Manhattan

Oded is bringing transparency and accountability to New York courts.

New Yorkers can look up a restaurant's health grade, a school's test scores, or an elected official's voting record. Until recently, they could learn almost nothing about the judges who make life-changing decisions every single day…
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“Judges make decisions that affect the lives of New Yorkers every single day.”
~6%
of written criminal court decisions in New York are published annually

Source: Scrutinize and Reinvent Albany

Update from winner

In @gothamist, Scrutinize tracked 1,200+ NY judges’ decisions. Their data revealed an NYC judge’s reversal rate: 95% higher than peers.
@ffwd_org

Publication

State Court Report

Lack of Transparency in New York Courts Undermines Democracy

By Oded Oren
November 28, 2023
Only a tiny fraction of New York criminal court decisions are publicly accessible, hampering New Yorkers’ ability to hold their judges accountable…
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