For 'Safe Return,' Task Force to Guide Gradual Reopening of Florida Courts
The state chief justice names a 17-member working group to recommend how and when to gradually return Florida courts to the kind of operations it had before the coronavirus took hold.
April 22, 2020 at 02:25 PM
3 minute read
Intent on getting Florida courts up and running again, the state's chief justice appointed a task force to quickly recommend how and when to reopen as the coronavirus pandemic appears to ease.
An administrative order issued Tuesday by Florida Supreme Court Chief Judge Charles Canady assumes "a gradual resumption of court operations." Courts have been operating under emergency rules since March 13, and Canady issued a new order April 6 suspending non-essential court operations until June.
The latest order was issued the same day Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the state "flattened the curve" on the virus earlier than predicted. He also named a "reopen Florida" working group Monday dominated by Republican politicians and industry leaders.
The 17-member justice working group led by Orange Circuit Judge Lisa Munyon will expire June 30, so its suggestions need to be delivered within 10 weeks.
Canady is offering the group a blank slate, calling on the members to "identify the proceedings that are amenable to progress or resolution through remote technology," which is already in limited use.
He wants guidance based on public health expertise for "protective measures that will allow the progressive and safe return of judges, personnel, parties, counsel, jurors, and the public to court facilities."
A four-phase plan would address when in-person hearings are rare, limited, broader and when the virus is no longer a significant risk. As part of that, Canady contemplates extending the use of remote technology beyond the public health emergency.
Canady alluded to geographic differences since the COVID-19 virus has had an outsized impact in South Florida, which has 60 percent of the state's cases. Miami-Dade County alone accounts for more than a third of all Florida cases.
He told the group to be mindful that "unique local recovery needs and operational capabilities must be balanced with the goal of statewide consistency in the resumption of court operations and proceedings."
Changes in rules, protocol and law may be suggested to implement the group's recommendations.
Canady also left his guidance to the group open-ended, calling for pandemic-related recommendations "that are not specifically identified in its charges but are necessary to improve the administration of justice."
He also suggested recommendations could be delivered piecemeal rather than all at once "due to the quickly evolving nature of the pandemic."
South Florida representatives include Third District Court of Appeal Judge Kevin Emas, Miami-Dade Chief Circuit Judge Bertila Soto, Broward Circuit Judge Hope Bristol, Fort Lauderdale attorney Jay Cohen and Fourth District Court of Appeal Marshal Daniel DiGiacomo.
A longtime fiscal conservative dating back to his days in Congress from 1993 to 2001, Canady cited limits on public resources and said the group "should strive to utilize the most economical means appropriate to the type of work being accomplished."
South Florida courts have been operating at a fraction of their normal pace aside from mandatory criminal and emergency hearings, and many of them have been done remotely. Judges and attorneys occasionally use the Zoom video platform and the Court Call telephone system for remote hearings.
Read the order:
Read more:
Florida Chief Justice: Skip Work in Courts Until June
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllSecond Circuit Ruling Expands VPPA Scope: What Organizations Need to Know
6 minute read'They Got All Bent Out of Shape:' Parkland Lawyers Clash With Each Other
Courts of Appeal Conflicted Over Rule 1.442(c)(3) When Claims for Damages Involve a Husband and Wife
Families Settle Court Battle Over Who Owns Parkland Killer's Name, Likeness
4 minute readTrending Stories
- 1How I Made Partner: 'Develop a Practice Area You Really Care About ,' Says Jennifer Gniady of Stradley Ronon
- 2Indian Billionaire Gautam Adani Indicted in Brooklyn for Alleged Orchestration of $250 Million Bribery Plot
- 3St. Ivo: Patron Saint of Lawyers
- 4Eagle Pharma Founder Sues Company to Recoup Cost of SEC Investigation
- 5GC Conference Takeaways: Picking AI Vendors 'a Bit of a Crap Shoot,' Beware of Internal Investigation 'Scope Creep'
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250