Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Harold Melton (right), followed by Presiding Justice David Nahmias and Justice Robert Benham along with the other justices are greeted by Georgia lawmakers before Melton delivers a State of the Judiciary speech. (Photo: John Disney/ALM)

For the first time in its history, the Supreme Court of Georgia will convene virtual court sessions next month to hear oral arguments in 19 cases. 

Faced with keeping the courts in operation while COVID-19 continues to spread, Chief Justice Harold Melton on Friday announced the high court's plans for the virtual sessions, which will take place from April 20-24.

Over the course of the week, attorneys will argue 19 cases before the justices, who will be in front of their computers in their homes. Except for Melton, who will take his seat on the bench at the Nathan Deal Judicial Center in downtown Atlanta.

The virtual court sessions are scheduled to begin a week after Melton's statewide judicial emergency order is currently slated to end. On March 14, Melton declared a statewide judicial emergency, effective through April 13, to curtail the spread of the coronavirus to those who work in or are required to appear in court.

Melton's order asked judges across Georgia to prioritize matters such as domestic abuse restraining orders, juvenile court delinquency detention hearings and emergency removal matters, mental health commitment hearings, and cases "where an immediate liberty or safety concern is present requiring the attention of the court as soon as the court is available. Because Georgia does not have a unified court system, Melton must rely on his powers of persuasion rather than legal authority to curtail other court operations.

In his public announcement of the virtual court sessions, Melton expressed his hope that "it will go off without a hitch," but also asked for patience "if we run into some technological glitches."

The high court will use the videoconferencing service Zoom to link appellate lawyers and the bench. The high court also will livestream the virtual arguments over the internet, including to the general public. The Supreme Court has livestreamed oral arguments for several years.

Hansen said that, instead of seeing all the justices seated on the bench, online viewers will see each justice and the arguing lawyers in an enclosed video panel. Hansen said it should resemble the opening of the old television sitcom, "The Brady Bunch."

The April calendar also will include cases that were originally scheduled to take place this month but were canceled after Melton declared a judicial emergency.

Since early March, the chief justice has taken the lead in crafting the state judiciary's response to the pandemic. Melton is sitting in on Gov. Brian Kemp's coronavirus task force meetings, and on March 9 he notified the state's judges he will coordinate the judiciary's response to the outbreak. 

 The next day, the state Supreme Court issued an order temporarily waiving the in-person continuing legal education requirement for members of the State Bar of Georgia. Melton then took the unprecedented step of canceling all tours of the new judicial center until further notice, suspended swearing-in ceremonies for attorneys and asked that only those directly involved in oral arguments attend court sessions.