With the latest order (the 22nd one so far) from the Texas Supreme Court (issued August 6, 2020) there seems to be no end to the virtualization of court hearings. As it stands now, many courts are flat-out denying requests for in-person hearings and trials.
Now, to be fair to all the courts, the order isn’t super-clear. It says all courts may — and must to avoid risk — without a participant’s consent, modify or suspend any and all deadlines and procedures until September 30, 2020. But, that being said, it seems to me that some judges are using COVID as an excuse.
Will these Zoom hearings give a fair and impartial outcome? I can’t see it. How will we gauge responses? How will we conduct voir dire? Much of what we do in the courtroom requires us to be able to see the body language that goes along with the testimony. I expect to see cases going up on appeal for violation of due process.
Nevertheless, at least for the foreseeable future, it looks like we will all have to get used to having court by Zoom.
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