From the Virtual Bench
A judicial perspective.
HON. DIANE BESSEN
State Court of Fulton County
[email protected]
With the enactment of Justice Melton’s two
Emergency Orders, the judges of this state
have been struggling to keep the wheels of
justice from grinding to a complete halt. It
has been difficult. These times have raised
questions for which we have only limited, if
any, guidance. If the judge is actually in the courtroom and
everyone else is connected virally does the
matter still need to be available on-line via
a public link or YouTube, or is the matter
already public if the courthouse is still open?
How do documents become admitted during a
virtual hearing?
Certain statutes require that the judge be
physically located in the county building in
order to conduct court of any kind. Does that
prohibit a judge from being at home during a
virtual hearing, in compliance with “shelter-
in- place” orders, during a pandemic? Can the court reporter conduct takedown
when like everyone else, he or she is on a
laptop in a different location?
8
April 2020
These are just a few of the issues that judges,
statewide, are trying to navigate. In an effort
to keep cases moving, the last thing any
judge, or litigants for that matter, want is to
find out a year from now that the matter was
improperly conducted and must be re-heard.
I can report that the judges of the State
Courts are constantly communicating
via email and weekly phone conferences,
sharing ideas and concerns for handling civil
and criminal matters. We are trying to adapt
to the realities of this pandemic. I guess if
we get it wrong, at least we will have been
consistent!
We are, of course, cognizant of everyone’s