Danbury Superior Courthouse/photo: Google

When should the courts in Connecticut reopen?

While many attorneys interviewed this week believe the courts should follow the guidelines of health professionals and open when the COVID-19 pandemic is under control, there are several others who favor opening the courts—to a limited extent—right now.

Pamela Cameron, a partner with Middlebury-based Moore, O'Brien & Foti said she'd feel safe going to court today with several protocols in place. They include pretrials scheduled every 30 minutes; conferences held in a judge's courtroom or in meeting rooms instead of chambers to maintain social distancing; and a requirement that masks be worn.

"There cannot be zero risk in the foreseeable future, but those protocols would minimize the risk substantially, and would allow me to feel safe while still being able to access the courts for my clients," Cameron said. "There is no substitute for the services that the courts provide in managing civil cases, issuing orders and decisions, and working diligently with lawyers on all sides to attempt to resolve cases."

From his perspective, Trantolo & Trantolo attorney Ron Etemi also believes courts should reopen now "on a limited basis for all sorts of civil hearings, including prejudgment remedy hearings."

"They shouldn't be open to the public, but I'd favor scheduling hearings, or even arguments, on civil cases in court for those parties only," said Etemi, who said social distancing should be adhered to and people should be mandated to wear masks and even gloves.

Then, there is the opinion of longtime criminal defense and personal injury attorney Christian Young, who believes that not only should courts be open to the public now, but that people should "incorporate the safety and protocols they feel is important to them."

Young, of counsel at the Bridgeport offices of Cohen & Wolf, said, "My personal opinions might be controversial, but these social distancing requirements and the requirements of wearing masks, in theory, had their potential for usefulness many months ago. As a practical manner, the horse is out of the barn."

Young said imposing social distancing rules in a courthouse is almost impossible "because you have things like elevators and court clerks walking in close quarters with each other."

Young continued: "You just can't keep the country closed. It's impossible."

Young said he has confidence that court employees and visitors using the courthouses would be responsible in interacting with other people. He also said "the courts never closed down during flu season." He noted that each year thousands of people die from flu complications, which has killed between 12,000 and 61,000 people annually across the U.S. since 2010, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But while attorneys might differ on the ideal timing for reopening Connecticut courthouses, most agree that conducting business virtually is the wave of the future.

"We are increasing the remote availability of the courts in areas like the family division, and that's a good thing," said family law and matrimonial attorney Carole Orland of Broder & Orland.

Paul Knag, a partner at Murtha Cullina, said, "You can use technology, like Zoom, for all civil and criminal matters. The technology is there. It's hurting the bar and litigants when you can't move forward with cases."

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