Courts Straining to Balance Public Health With Public Access
Courts across the U.S. are facing challenges as they try to balance public health protections with public access to their proceedings amid the Covid-19 outbreak.
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Legal Community Says Immigration Court Reopening Lacks Transparency, Safety Measures
Plans to resume immigration court hearings for non-detained defendants at a handful of courts across the country lack safety measures necessary to prevent the spread of Covid-19, immigration judges and attorneys told Courthouse News this week.
Read moreFirst Amendment Groups Want California Courts to Keep Access Open
While some courts have made strides to preserve access to legal proceedings during the coronavirus pandemic, First Amendment advocates say others are still withholding records and shutting the press and public out of hearings.
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Judge Declares Courthouse Immigration Arrests Illegal in New York
Sowing chaos and intimidation throughout New York’s judicial system, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s policy of arresting people in state courthouses is illegal, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.
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‘Recognizably a Courtroom’: US Judiciary to Get a Virus-Minded Makeover
Complete an online survey before heading to federal court, listing any signs of contact, symptoms or infection with the coronavirus. Permission to enter, should you qualify, will come with a QR code. You’ll need that, plus a mask and hand sanitizer, to get inside.
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California Court Administrator Lays Out Guide for Reopening Courts
California’s court administrator released its guide Wednesday for keeping court employees and the public safe as courthouses start to reopen after months of closures and scaled-down operations due to Covid-19.
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Protests Force Closure of Courts Across California
After months of closures during the Covid-19 pandemic, state courts in Los Angeles County will be closed again Monday following a weekend of protests, looting and escalating police violence.
Read moreLA County Presiding Judge on Facing Pandemic Challenge: ‘We’re on the Right Track’
With 38 courthouses and nearly 500 judges serving a population of more than 10 million, overseeing the largest court in the nation during a pandemic takes a lot of coordination. For LA County Superior Court Presiding Judge Kevin Brazile, it’s like steering an ocean liner.
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Criminal Trials Set to Resume at Sacramento Court
After nearly three months of plotting a reopening path, Sacramento County Superior Court is ready to debut a new “socially distanced” era of criminal justice featuring temperature checks, mandatory masks and jurors behind plexiglass.
Read moreThe Push to Modernize California Courts Hits a Budgetary Wall
The California Judicial Council’s push for a digital courthouse is up in the air as the judiciary faces $216 million in budget cuts due to the viral pandemic.
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New York Courts Reopen Months Into Lockdown With Rush of Lawsuits
A two-month moratorium on new complaints in New York City has not caused major tort lawyers to pare back their workload.
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California Court Accessibility During Covid-19, May 22 Edition Lassen County Lassen County Superior Court May 21, 2020: Order continues current
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San Diego Superior to Resume Limited Operations From Courthouse Lobby
SAN DIEGO (CN) — After being closed for 10 weeks while courts up and down California worked to remain open
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California Court Accessibility During Covid-19, May 19 edition Ventura County Ventura County Superior Court May 18, 2020: Amended administrative order
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Where There’s a Will There’s a Way: Sacramento Court Reopens for New Filings
For the first time since the coronavirus pandemic caused thousands of politicians, regulators and court employees to abruptly abandon the downtown core, small albeit definitive signs of life are emerging throughout California’s capital and its mass of government institutions.
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Revised California Budget Slashes Millions From Court Funding
The economic meltdown caused by Covid-19 pandemic means key priorities for California’s judiciary — including courthouse construction and renovation projects — are off the table for now.
Read moreAs Tennessee Opens, Questions Remain About Public Access to Courts
As Tennessee state courts start to open up and hold in-person judicial proceedings, an analysis shows that few of the courts’ Covid-19 plans have any provisions describing how the public and press can observe.
Read moreLA Courts Requiring Mandatory Usage of Face Masks by Judges
Starting Monday, all Los Angeles County Superior Court bench officers such as judges and commissioners will be required to wear face masks in public areas inside courthouses and in courtrooms as California slowly begins to reopen this month.
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Out of the Pandemic Comes an Alternative Courthouse
In the wake of a statewide shutdown that also sent sheriffs to lock courthouse doors, lawyers in San Diego started an extraordinary program to stand in for their paralyzed courts.
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Federal Court in San Diego ‘Business as Usual’ During Pandemic
Unlike its state court neighbor across the street, the Southern District of California is operating business as usual during the pandemic, with 90% of its clerk’s office staff teleworking from home to process the constant flow of civil filings still coming in.
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