Exploring Procedural Justice | Judge Steve Leben | Texas Appellate Law Podcast
As the number of new COVID-19 cases reached record levels, the First and Second Departments announced that beginning January 2022, and until further notice, oral arguments will be conducted virtually. The return to remote...more
Courts across the country are temporarily suspending jury trials amid the Omicron variant wave. Prior to that surge, many jurisdictions had resumed criminal and civil jury trials with health and safety protocols. ...more
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck in early 2020, the legal profession responded with a one-two punch. The first response was to fashion emergency procedures that enabled courts to function during the pandemic and, if...more
As described in Locke Lord’s previous QuickStudies, New York’s state and federal courts quickly transformed their procedures and operations as a result of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, as more residents across New...more
Delaware has one of the most active federal civil trial dockets in the country. On Monday, it issued this notice: In short, Delaware is back...more
Here’s the headline from yesterday’s Palm Beach Post: “Jury trials begin again in Palm Beach County as coronavirus infections continue to rise.” Palm Beach County will begin holding jury trials for both criminal and civil...more
We return now to Judge Amos Mazzant’s federal courtroom in Sherman, Texas. COVID-19 caused a mistrial last year, when jurors, lawyers and court staff become infected mid-trial. We covered it, most recently...more
Americans are asking: “We know about Georgia’s elections, but what about its courts?” We’re here to tell you. On Friday, the Georgia Supreme Court extended its prohibition on jury trials. The order notes that when the...more
Readers will remember our coverage of the November trial in Eastern District of Texas, Sherman Division, which ended in a mistrial after jurors, court staff, and lawyers on both sides contracted COVID-19. The trial judge,...more
A vaccine is on the way, but jury trials are not—at least not in many places. Yesterday Indiana suspended all jury trials in the state until March. North Carolina froze nearly all in-person court proceedings through at least...more
Last week saw differing approaches to the pandemic in South Carolina. In the state court system, Chief Justice Don Beatty suspended all state civil and criminal jury trials, finding “that in light of the ongoing increase in...more
In Charlotte, North Carolina, the Superior Court for Mecklenburg County attempted to hold its first pandemic jury trial, starting November 16. Things did not go well. First, during the evidence phase, a jury was excused...more
On Monday we summarized the various district court orders shutting down jury trials. But events are outpacing us...more
What will we write about when all the courts have closed? We are rapidly on the way to finding out, especially in the federal system...more
Many of the state and federal courthouses in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio are not open to attorneys or to other members of the public, with some exceptions. While the signs may say “Closed, Do Not Enter;” the courts...more
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been countless changes to procedures and operations in New York’s state and federal courts. As New York’s law and courts continue evolving to keep pace with the...more
On May 14, 2020, Delaware Chief Justice Seitz entered an Order further extending the public closure of all Delaware State courthouses and their administrative offices through June 13, 2020. During this time, access to State...more
Since mid-March, courts across the country have entered varying orders addressing the national emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on litigation. The orders vary from limiting courthouse admission to...more
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, New Jersey state courts have conducted more than 12,000 remote court events involving more than 80,000 participants since transitioning to virtual operations. Based on that success and...more
We continue to track the impact of COVID-19 on court operations and parties in civil litigation across the country. (You can read our most recent update here.) Many courts seem to have shifted from the earlier pauses and...more
California courts are grappling with how to move forward in these times, and they will start doing so, perhaps even soon. Are you ready? California Judicial Council issues 11 Emergency Rules for court proceedings during...more
As we previously observed, the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has created substantial disruption and uncertainty with respect to civil litigation management. Since we last reported on March 19, 2020, federal and...more
I know it is difficult keeping track of all the moving dates and deadlines. For your convenience, here is a chart with all the current extensions. Below the chart is an update about Justice Beasley’s latest order pushing out...more
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania continues to take the necessary precautions to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. In that vein, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has extended the emergency measures initially put in place at...more
We are all experiencing unprecedented challenges right now, both personally and professionally. To ease some of your legal team’s anxieties, we have put together a litigation-specific checklist with the measures we recommend...more