Everyone else is present for court with the current technology options so what was different in this case?

 

Humboldt Superior Court offers the option to appear via Zoom or phone for hearings. The second floor of the Courthouse and courts are closed to the public due to COVID 19 safety concerns.

The information is on the Humboldt Superior Court website. There are some glitches and it isn't ideal but it works. For a small, rural court dealing with COVID 19 restrictions for the second year, things could be a lot worse. The court IT department works very hard and had online livestream on within hours of the shelter in place order last year.

There are security, confidentiality and legal rules so this isn't like setting up a broadcast for your favorite show.

There are some exceptions in criminal proceedings and civil cases to appear in person in Humboldt but it depends on the Judge.

Does it affect due process? It does. Not everyone has the privacy, the technology and the means to do Zoom or phone in an economically impoverished County.

I brought up these options and issues with court appearances via technology before. I get feedback from readers and community members about the local courts regularly and especially now with more problems and concerns.

In the Thomas Blaquelorde post today there was a comment in court about the "inability to be present via technology." 

Who wouldn't like to use that excuse to avoid court? Everyone else has no choice so whoever that remark pertained to this afternoon, deal with it.

Local Judges are multi tasking. Some Judges are hearing cases in areas they are not familiar with or cases not usually on their calendar. Court staff is exhausted because these restrictions increase the stress and workload. There are staffing shortages because life does not stop to accomodate  the extra burdens of COVID 19. 

Those in charge of courts, administration and especially the California Judicial Council, need to do a better job of making sure everyone's due process and right to a fair trial is not overlooked. Courts are the last recourse for many people and justice should not depend on the luck of the draw and personal whims of the Judge they happen to get assigned to in a pandemic. Some Judges are better than others in making sure that people's rights are  protected, laws are followed and they do not destroy a life to rush through the calendar.

Criminal trials can be delayed for months because of COVID 19 and defendants can appear in criminal court but civil and family law cases have to only be by Zoom and cannot have any delays? Certain civil cases proceed  faster because money, connections and corruption in a small town is rampant and family law cases have to be heard because California has stupid, biased and onerous regulations. 

Gavin Newsom, the bureaucrats and Public Health don't give a damn if you don't have money or are not the special interests keeping their undeserved jobs intact. They are all drunk with power running roughshod over the Constitution and your legal rights because they can and they are getting paid to screw over whoever they deem non-essential.

Mismanagement by governors and callous Public Health officials all over the country. They do not care that there is a backlog in courts and that there are consequences to people's life and liberty because there is pressure to clear cases. They do not care if you are safe from criminals or your business is destroyed because as long as it does not affect them; it does not matter.