A group dedicated to keeping an eye on New Orleans criminal justice system is celebrating its first anniversary amidst praise that they are keeping the system in check.

Court Watch NOLA, a criminal justice system reform group, says its volunteers are getting noticed in the courtroom, and because of that, prosecutors, judges and police all seem to be trying to move cases along faster.

They started one year ago with a dozen volunteers, and now, they've cornered the market on their trademark, yellow clipboards.

"We are now almost one hundred strong, watching about 375 cases. Our court watchers today watch 17 percent of the cases pending in the court house," said Karen Herman, outgoing Executive Director of Court Watch NOLA.

"Not having this type of accountability in the past I think has been an impediment to moving our system forward, and I think this is essential to building a bigger, better and stronger and safer New Orleans," said Court Watch board member and Metropolitan Crime Commission President Rafael Goyeneche.

The court watchers keep tabs on all of the cases handled by the violent offender unit in the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s office and many others. They keep a close eye on how often defense attorneys and prosecutors ask for continuances, or delays, in taking cases to trial.

In fact, they're watching the 120 oldest cases that are still working their way through the system.

"The cases are just lagging either because they can't find witnesses, loss of evidence, so, in that way it's frustrating," said Courtwatch volunteer Andrea Manuel.

"We want to identify whatever problems there might be. If a case missed the docket, we need to know, is that the judge's staff or the Clerk of Court? If a defendant doesn't get brought over from the jail, is that a problem with the Sheriff's Office? Is that a problem with the clerk," said Graham da Ponte, Court Watch NOLA’s new Executive Director.

Experts in the judicial system say the longer it takes a case to make its way through the court system, the harder it is to try. For example, it's harder to find witnesses and get their continued cooperation. The court watchers see first-hand how much of a problem it is in Orleans parish.

"We're accumulating information to add transparency to the system and I think we're also educating segments of the community that have never been exposed to the criminal justice system and that'll only improve the quality of the criminal justice system in the long run," Goyeneche said.

That's why creating Court Watch NOLA was one of the New Orleans Crime Coalition's most important reforms a year ago; to encourage improvement by letting everyone involved in criminal justice know that someone's watching, even taking notes on a yellow clipboard.