This post was originally published on this site
The close-quarters nature of New York City courtrooms has been exposed by the coronavirus pandemic, as plaintiffs, defendants and their counselors who would otherwise huddle to discuss cases, are no longer able to do so.
Because of coronavirus, the New York court system has dramatically altered how it does business, holding virtual arraignments, freezing many nonessential matters, and having lawyers and judges work from home. Lawyers in both civil and criminal courts have been left to advocate for their clients as best they can without in-person interaction, while criminal defendants worry about spending time in city jails with high infection rates.
In late March, a “virtual court” model was introduced in New York City’s Criminal and Family Courts, then expanded to essential and emergency court proceedings statewide. Today, reviewing dockets of pending cases and deciding fully submitted motions are among services offered virtually. The New York State Unified Court System confirmed to MarketWatch that they are using Skype for Business for all virtual court business.
The New York State Unified Court System includes the supreme civil and criminal courts, family and surrogate courts, as well as some specialized courts, but does not include federal courts.
Federal courts in New York City are also curtailing their activities. The Daniel Patrick Moynihan Courthouse is still open for emergency matters, but the Thurgood Marshall Courthouse is closed for all Southern District of New York activities, with the exception of grand jury matters, at least through May 4. Jury trials have been suspended until at least June 1, and possibly later.
Within a court system that is partially frozen, lawyers have had to become more strategic about the work that they do, and how they plan for the future.
Because nonessential court filings for current cases — documents submitted for consideration — were put on hold in New York State courts, and no new suits are being initiated, people are worried they will have no immediate recourse through the civil courts to recover money rightfully owed to them. The statute of limitations has been temporarily paused, and people will be able to bring new suits once the courts are fully open. But for now, that will not address immediate cash flow concerns, according to Caren Decter, a partner in the litigation department at Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz, located in lower Manhattan.
“People are really strapped for cash right now. People are really nervous about unpaid invoices not being paid,” she said.
There is also the prospect that at some point, courts will go back to normal, and so clients and their lawyers must be prepared when that happens. Gathering information and interviewing potential witnesses are parts of case management that can be done outside of court right now.
“My basic advice to clients is: Let’s try and push ahead, because you don’t know when it’s going to unthaw and how tight the deadline might be,” said Adam Felsenstein, a partner at law firm Tannenbaum Helpern Syracuse & Hirschtritt, based in Midtown Manhattan. “Ultimately this is going to unlock, and there’s going to be a glut. And you don’t want to have the court say, ‘Well, you had six months of pause, now I have to move my docket forward and I’m moving you on an expedited basis.’”
Alyssa Goldrich, an associate at Tannenbaum Helpern Syracuse & Hirschtritt, primarily practices commercial litigation in New York City. For one of her cases, she was involved in a virtual mediation. Both counsels and their clients were present, as well as the mediator.
Michele Kirschbaum is the director of programs at New York Peace Institute, a community dispute resolution center. Before coronavirus, the organization had mediators in nearly every court in the city. Now, they are organizing virtual mediations, often working with people who might have kids at home and other distractions.
“In some cases, it’s more contentious,” Kirschbaum said. “In other cases, we’re seeing that folks are being more considerate of each other because they don’t really have options. They have to work this out.”
The long-term effect of a virtual-first court system in New York City remains to be seen, but it could present a different way of doing business.
See: Companies reveal their plans for what work will look like when America returns to the office
“I think when this is over we’re going to find, potentially, a new paradigm for the practice of law,” said Vincent Syracuse, a partner at Tannenbaum Helpern Syracuse & Hirschtritt. “We may see more situations where we have remote arbitrations, remote mediations, things like that.”
Criminal court
Criminal court cases during coronavirus offer different challenges for lawyers and defendants.
Crime during the first two weeks of quarantine plummeted in New York City. Major crimes, including murder and felony assault, declined 33% during that time compared to pre-coronavirus numbers, according to MarketWatch’s analysis of public crime data.
As of March 16, civil jury trials in which opening statements had not begun, and new criminal jury trials were postponed until further notice, according to a memo from Lawrence K. Marks, the chief administrative judge of the New York State Unified Court System. Civil jury trials that had already begun were allowed to continue to conclusion, as were criminal jury trials in which jeopardy was attached. The jury selection process in civil and criminal matters was suspended, until further notice according to the memo.
Right now in New York City, arraignments in criminal court — in which charges are read to the defendant —are taking place virtually.
Michael Gibbons, a public defender in New York City who works in the Bronx, has participated in several virtual arraignments since late March.
While his client is in a cell in a courthouse, he speaks to them from his apartment in Manhattan.
“They basically put cameras and monitors where the defense attorney would sit. And then we can hear our clients basically through a glass window, through a little microphone hole. So the sound quality is terrible,” Gibbons said.
This can make it difficult to closely observe clients, whether or not they have any scratching or bruising, mental health issues or physical challenges.
“We’re asking very pointed questions, you know, about the worst day of their life, possibly, when they’ve been arrested and thrown into jail, and they don’t know what’s going on,” Gibbons said. “You’re talking to a person on a monitor. How do you build rapport and trust?”
During arraignment, the judge, prosecutor, court reporter and attorneys all appear via teleconference. Court officers are on camera and physically in the courtroom itself, still following the tradition of calling the case into the record, according to Gibbons. Court clerks and officers are now being issued Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) like masks and gloves, but for weeks were issued almost no supplies, according to Glenn Damato, president of the New York State County Clerks Association.
Virtual glitches sometimes pop up. At the beginning of one of his shifts, no cases were called during the first hour and a half because the judge was having issues logging in.
Don’t miss: The coronavirus changes everything in New York: Let us count the ways
Gibbons currently has around 40 clients, roughly half the number he had before coronavirus hit New York City.
Chris Boyle, director of data research and policy at New York County Defender Services, a public defense organization, said that aside from in-person contact limitations with clients, the inability for family members to attend courtroom proceedings is a real concern.
“There’s a lot of times that family would be able to show up for a client. The client’s family would be in the courtroom and there would be some impact on the judge seeing family in the courtroom, of whether or not the judge makes the decision whether bail gets set. And so you lose that in the virtual world,” Boyle said.
