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 and Bloomberg Law News. 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. In 2026, he was a finalist for the Goldsmith Award for Investigative Reporting and was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting. Washingtonian Magazine has repeatedly 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 is also an associate editor of Lawfare. He holds a B.A. in political science from Davidson College. 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.

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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.

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Report for Court Watch

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.