IN THE PROFESSION
Needless to say, criminal matters have
presented unique challenges. From the
outset of this coronavirus pandemic, judges
have been cognizant of the danger to jailed
defendants, and there has been an ongoing
effort to release non-violent and less-violent
offenders from local jails. It was important
to avoid unnecessarily exposing defendants
as well as the jail staff to the likelihood of
contracting the virus.
I hope the legal
community
is open to
having these
discussions.
concerns. Civil attorneys are trying to keep
staff employed and earn a living. Although
criminal attorneys have similar concerns,
these are coupled with ensuring a client’s access
to justice and perhaps, more importantly,
an assurance that there is no injustice. A
criminal defendant should be afforded a first
appearance hearing, a probable cause hearing,
and be able to confront witnesses. These must
be afforded in a timely manner as prescribed
by law. Moreover, incarceration should not
unnecessarily expose someone to a possibly
deadly virus, so ensuring someone’s prompt
release from jail becomes more anxiety
ridden than usual.
In Fulton County, first appearance hearings
and jail pleas were initially conducted by
part-time judges who were actually going to
the jail for these purposes. In some counties,
judges are still doing this. These individuals
should be greatly commended. They are
risking exposure to ensure that defendants
are afforded justice, regardless of the dangers.
Currently, many of these matters are being
conducted virtually. It is, however, an arduous
process and quite time consuming. An average
session involves at least six to eight people,
including the defense attorney, prosecutors,
pre-trial clerks, the judge and defendant.
The judge has to seek authorization from
the defendant to enable his or her counsel
to sign documents on his or her behalf, and
to waive everyone’s “live” appearance. If
counsel wants to speak with his or her client,
it involves scheduling a separate breakout
room. Additionally the court must provide a
public link to the proceedings, often by way of
YouTube, so as to provide public access. What
would normally take a matter of minutes can
easily be 20 to 30 minutes long.
For civil matters, the existence of electronic
filing provides access to court dockets and
enables attorneys the ability to file pleadings
and monitor their cases. Judges can easily
issue rulings on perfunctory matters like
scheduling orders and consent judgments.
This is obviously a tremendous benefit; but, it
is only a small part of the litigation process. Not
only is there concern about getting existing
cases resolved, but we also anticipate that as
this emergency slowly begins to ease up, there
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www.atlantabar.org THE ATLANTA LAWYER
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