COVID has created a lot of disruptions in normal day to day life. The Judicial Branch has also been struggling with trying to balance the need to achieve the speedy and just administration of criminal cases along with limiting the size of crowds in the court to reduce the potential for the spread of COVID. Many defendants want to get their cases over quickly as having a case pending can affect job searches, immigration matters and is generally a significant stress factor. COVID has created a lot of delays in the criminal justice system in 2020 and this trend looks to continue into 2021. This has lead to many cases being continued multiple times and many clients being frustrated with not being able to resolve their pending criminal matter in a timely manner.
It should be noted that the criminal court system has been functioning at some level continuously throughout the COVID pandemic. At first, during the months of April and May, only domestic violence arraignments and priority one business matters were being heard. In late June the scope of matters handled was expanded to include all types of pending criminal cases. (It should be noted that the DMV is proceeding with virtual hearings on administrative per se license suspension appeals in DUI cases). The Judicial Branch has also been facilitating remote virtual judicial pre-trials which have been very useful to help resolve more complex cases.
Batch File Designation Assignment