The Coronavirus: How are Courts Coping with the Crisis? Thursday, June 4, 2020 Episode:

Courts and Protest! also Virtual Hearings: What Have We Learned After Three Months?

The events that have transpired since late February of this year defy classification.

· A pandemic the likes of which this country has not seen since the 1918 Spanish flu

· Unemployment numbers that rival the 1929 Great Depression

· Now protests and riots in dozens of American cities sparked by the killing of an unarmed African-American man in Minneapolis.

Protests and the Courts

This episode was to focus on virtual hearings, and we will still discuss this topic, yet it is vital that we acknowledge the events of the last week during this episode.

Virtual Hearings

Most courts now have experienced about three months using virtual hearings on an extensive scale. This is a good time to explore some of the everyday topics that concern expanding the use of this innovation. The panel discusses public access to virtual hearings, security, ease of use, handling private attorney-client sidebars, making the record, and situations where one party physically shows up for a hearing while the other party is virtual.

Guest Speakers:

Richard J. "Rick" 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 "Liz" 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.

Chris Gaddis has been the Court Administrator for the Superior Court of Washington for Pierce County for 4 years. Prior to working for the court, he served 20 years in law enforcement with the last four years as Chief of Police. Mr. Gaddis is the current President of the Association of Washington Superior Court Administrators. He is also a member of the Washington State Jury Diversity Task Force and the Washington State Supreme Court Minority and Justice Commission Public Trust and Confidence Committee.

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.

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.

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