Coronavirus and the Courts: Challenges Faced
COVID-19 has largely precluded the courts from conducting routine operations in the ways they ordinarily would. Because of these challenges, the New York State government and court system have had to implement a number of measures to account for the "new normal" we are facing. In their Trial Practice Column, Robert Kelner, Gail Kelner and Joshua Kelner review some of the most significant of these measures, and offer some of our thoughts about what to expect as we go forward.
May 22, 2020 at 12:00 PM
12 minute read
The coronavirus pandemic has posed unique and unprecedented challenges for the court system. Courts, by their nature, typically require people to come in close contact with each other to function. Lawyers frequently congregate in courtrooms, sometimes by the hundreds. Jurors sit in proximity with one another, and with court personnel, during trials. Personal contact is also essential outside the courthouse. Lawyers must sit in conference rooms with each other, with clients for meetings, and with adversaries and witnesses for depositions. Many of us also are accustomed to coming to offices in the morning and having close contact with colleagues throughout the day.
These kinds of interactions, in which we all have engaged without a second thought for so long as we have practiced, now pose grave medical risks, and must be avoided or strong safeguards put into place.
For these and other reasons, COVID-19 has largely precluded the courts from conducting routine operations in the ways they ordinarily would. Because of these challenges, the New York State government and court system have had to implement a number of measures to account for the "new normal" we are facing. In this column, we will review some of the most significant of these measures, and offer some of our thoughts about what to expect as we go forward.
Executive Order 202.08
Perhaps the most significant response to COVID-19 relating to the operations of the court system has been Governor Andrew Cuomo's Executive Order 202.08, which was issued on March 20, 2020. The order, by its terms, operated to "temporarily suspend or modify, for the period from the date of this executive order through April 19, 2020" a number of legal requirements, including the following:
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