Virtual Courts Handling Increasing Caseload, But Unions Grumbling

While some state courts remained open as the coronavirus pandemic spread, the outbreak obliged the judicial system to institute virtual operations to prevent a certain legal bottleneck. Since mid-April, judges, attorneys, litigants and defendants have been conferencing pending matters via Skype or telephone. 

And while Chief Judge Janet DiFiore commended the court system’s technology staff for performing “herculean feats” to permit courts to go virtual, the leaders of two court officers unions criticized the Chief Judge for a lack of communication about the courts’ eventual reopening, which they said cast doubt on preparedness.