The Coronavirus: How are Courts Coping with the Crisis? Thursday, April 23, 2020 Episode

The Nation now moves to the end of its second month battling the pandemic. The infection rate has climbed into the hundreds of thousands; the death toll has reached well beyond 45,000. This week we continue our weekly podcast series, “Coronavirus: How are Courts Coping with the Crisis,” in a conversation with our panelists.

Numerous courts have been closed for over a month because of the virus. As a result, many are experimenting with court staff teleworking. In fact, we may be witnessing the first truly nationwide experiment ever of court employees teleworking. How are court staff taking to this experiment? How court courts fairing?

This episode explores who is teleworking and what do employees need to be successful. We look at union-management relations, equipment allocation, and how do we manage a staff that is almost all home working from their laptops?

Now, in the midst of the crisis, many states are opening back up or are at least considering it. Are courts looking to reopen this soon?

This week's panel includes:

Dorothy Howell is the Division Manager with Probation for the Superior Court in East Orange, New Jersey, which is part of Newark. Dorothy has a bachelor's degree from Rutgers University and is a Certified Court Executive from the National Center for State Courts.

Angela S. VanSchoick is the Court Administrator with the Town of Breckenridge Municipal Court. She is a licensed macro level social worker in the State of Colorado and Michigan, receiving her MSW from the University of Michigan in 2007. Her focus was on Policy, Evaluation, Community Organization, and Community Social Systems, which has provided her with a solid background to assist her Court and with the Colorado Association for Municipal Court Administration.

Mark A. Weinberg is the Court Administrator for the Seventh Judicial Circuit in Daytona Beach, Florida. Prior to his current position, he was an administrator with the court in Maricopa County, Arizona. He holds a bachelor's degree in public administration from James Madison University and a master's degree in judicial administration from the University of Denver.

Richard J. Pierce is the Judicial Programs Administrator of the Judicial District Operations and Programs Department, at the Pennsylvania Administrative Office of the Courts. Prior to his current position, he was the district court administrator for Cumberland County. He graduated from Washington and Lee University, and received his Masters in Public Administration from Shippensburg University.

Elizabeth Rambo is the Trial Court Administrator for Lane County Circuit Court in Eugene, Oregon. She graduated with high scholarship from Oregon State University with a BA in history and has an MBA from Portland State University.

Michael Roddy is the Executive Officer of the Superior Court of San Diego County. Prior to his current position he served as the California Administrative Office of the Courts’Regional Administrative Director for the Northern/Central Region, and was Executive Officer of the Sacramento Superior Court.

Zenell Brown has garnered respect both as Executive Court Administrator for the Third Circuit Court in Detroit, Michigan, and for her ethical leadership and innovation. Zenell has a Juris Doctor from Wayne State University Law School, a Public Service Administration Graduate Certificate from Central Michigan University, a Court Administration Certificate from Michigan State University, and is a Certified Diversity Professional from National Diversity Council-DiversityFirst.

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