Anyone fortunate enough to have visited downtown Stuart, Florida, probably had the misfortune of passing through what is known as the “Confusion Corner” in the center of town. The round-about, described by one writer as the most confusing intersection a driver could imagine, is where eight different streets, including two state highways, come together. Besides busy vehicular traffic, tracks for regular train traffic run through the same circle. The writer relates telling out-of-town visitors to just “close their eyes and floor it” when negotiating the circle for the first time.
After implementing various orders dealing with the operation of New Jersey courts during the COVID pandemic, the Supreme Court issued its most recent direction on Oct. 27, 2022. The order essentially restored in-person appearances for certain matters previously conducted on virtual platforms established when COVID made in-person appearances impractical and dangerous. The order, however, provided little direction for the municipal courts, essentially allowing them to proceed at their discretion, with virtual, in-person or some hybrid type of proceedings. In turn this has created a “confusion corner” where policies differ from county to county and town to town.