“Without courts we don’t have a country.”  A judge said this to me and opposing counsel in her chambers this morning.  Then she rescheduled our hearing–on a petition we filed in July, 2019–to August, 2020.  Along with other divisions of the courts, divorce and family court judges are determining how to balance public health with the right of U.S. citizens to access our court system to resolve disputes.

My client, a nurse, told me today that COVID-19 is much more contagious than the influenza strains medical professionals typically encounter.  The Coronavirus survives on hard surfaces longer than other viruses and is therefore especially communicable.  In a courtroom that may serve 50-100 litigants, lawyers, witnesses, jurors, spectators and court staff every day–all of whom touch the same doorknobs, chairs, desks, tables,  documents and countless other surfaces–imagine the potential for spreading this novel virus.

So why not just shut the courts down?  Well, here a few reasons . . . .  Victims of domestic violence need restraining orders.  Children need to be removed from parents who are abusive or strung out on drugs.  Last week, in one of my divorce cases, my client’s wife obtained an ex parte (without informing my client and without my client’s having an opportunity to be heard) “emergency” order taking away my client’s access to his children by making false allegations against my client.  His court hearing to try to get his children back is set for next week.  Do you think he wants his hearing postponed?

The situation changes daily, but for now, I think our divorce / family court judges are doing a remarkable job of balancing public health concerns with the public’s right to access our courts.  Here are some things the courts are doing now:

  • Postponing non-emergency hearings;
  • Sanitizing and enforcing social distancing in the courtroom;
  • Conducting non-evidence hearings via telephone;
  • Exploring whether even some evidence hearings can be conducted by phone; and
  • Expanding the use of e-filing court documents, even those which previously have required original signatures.

Our office continues to function and prosecute cases as usual, with the exception of in-office meetings.  For the time being, we are conducting virtually all our client communication via email and phone.  Our clients want their cases to move forward, and at our firm we will insure that happens.   We will adapt to the courts’ temporary changes and continue to give our clients the best possible representation in their divorce and family law cases.

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