Election Day firsts include an expanded voting pool

As the ballots were counted in last week's primary election, they included votes cast by probationers and parolees for the first time in New Jersey history. The New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) supported the legislation that expanded the voting pool last year, urging the bill's passage because of the disproportionate impact of the prohibition on people of color. The campaign to expand voting rights was championed by the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice (NJISJ) and its 1844 No More Campaign.

"Today was a historic day for democracy in New Jersey," said Henal Patel of NJISJ. "Today, 83,000 people have the right to vote and we continue to work toward full restoration."

NJSBA collaborates with workers' comp courts on COVID-19 safe reopening guidelines

Noting the steady leadership exhibited by the Workers' Compensation Division Director and Chief Judge Russell Wojtenko Jr. to address the safe administration of the workers' compensation courts during the current COVID-19 crisis, the NJSBA offered its assistance in planning for reopening and urged the director to include an NJSBA representative on the judge's task force that is planning for that endeavor.

"As you know, the Executive Committee of our Workers' Compensation Section has been meeting regularly to discuss these issues and stands ready to assist you in whatever way it can," wrote NJSBA President Kimberly A. Yonta in a letter to Wojtenko.

In response to a request for input from workers' compensation practitioners, the NJSBA also offered practical guidelines to address and encourage continued court operations to protect the safety and health of all involved. Those recommendations include:

• No in-person hearings should be held until such time as appropriate precautions are in place to ensure the health and safety of all users, except under the most extreme conditions and with the consent of all participants, with a phased-in approach to be implemented later.
• Consistent procedures should be adopted for handling matters across all venues so there is uniformity and expectations are the same from court to court.
• Digital hearings should continue with an option for telephone participation for injured workers who are unable to join by video, and requests by attorneys or witnesses to appear remotely should be granted liberally.
• The division should provide the platform to conduct telephone or video conferences. The NJSBA has offered to assist the division in scheduling a how-to seminar for new technology and procedures.
• Judges should be provided with laptops to ensure they have the ability to participate in video conferences.
• Sessions should be organized by type of matter, with settled matters being given morning segments and contested motions and trials scheduled for afternoons.
• Adjournment requests should be sent no later than three days prior to the court hearing or within as reasonable a timeframe as possible, and should be liberally granted when circumstances warrant, unless there is an objection. There should be a standard adjournment form from the division.
• For uniformity and efficiency of process, and for matters that require a hearing or conference, judges should try to assign specific times for the attorneys to call/video, and court reporters should be on the call/video.
• Settlements by affidavit should continue with the parties' consent.

This is a status report provided by the New Jersey State Bar Association on recently passed and pending legislation, regulations, gubernatorial nominations and/or appointments of interest to lawyers, as well as the involvement of the NJSBA as amicus in appellate court matters. To learn more, visit njsba.com.