New York”™s Chief Judge Janet DiFiore, a native of Mount Vernon who has a long history in the judicial system in Westchester County, said that the Covid-19 pandemic has given rise to “a transformative opportunity for the future of our courts.”
In a March 15 message, DiFiore said, “We are moving forward with our plans to incrementally expand in-person operations and restart a limited number of civil and criminal jury trials on Monday, March 22nd. We will continue to prioritize and enforce social distancing, the use of personal protective equipment, our strict cleaning regimen, and the maintenance of an environment where everyone ”” jurors, lawyers, litigants, witnesses, judges, staff and all other participants ”” feels comfortable and confident about the safety of our courthouses.”
She said that the majority of court matters will continue to be handled virtually for the foreseeable future.
“Last week our judges and staff remotely conferenced and heard over 24,400 matters, settled or disposed of more than 5,600 of those matters, and issued over 2,460 written decisions on motions and other undecided matters,” DiFiore said. “In addition, more than 1,200 virtual bench trials and evidentiary and fact-finding hearings were commenced last week across the state.”
That dovetailed with her March 2 “State of Our Judiciary” message, in which DiFiore recalled that the virus forced the courts to transform how they operate and deliver services.
“While it was immediately obvious that we had to make dramatic changes in our operating model, closing the courts was never an option for us,” DiFiore said.
She said that changes were “accomplished in record time, through excellent planning and execution by our leadership team; with the support and cooperation of the bar and our many justice partners; and because of the incredible commitment, dedication and ingenuity of our judges and professional staff, especially our professionals in the Division of Technology.”
She said that by following the best safety practices and public health guidance courts were able to resume some in-person proceedings.
“We are still conducting the vast majority of court business virtually, but with the second wave of the virus subsiding we are in the process of summoning trial jurors back to our courthouses in order to resume a limited number of in-person civil and criminal jury trials statewide.”
She said that courts in New York state are remotely conferencing well over 20,000 cases weekly and conducting more than 1,000 virtual bench trials and evidentiary and fact-finding hearings each week. She reported that every person arrested and held in custody since the beginning of the pandemic has been expeditiously arraigned by a judge.
DiFiore also noted that the court system is aware that not everyone has access to computers and internet service.
“We are working to bridge the digital divide through innovative initiatives like the FaithBased Remote Access Centers located in houses of worship in Westchester County,” she said, describing what she called “a smart and special collaboration with faith leaders to establish safe and convenient locations where unrepresented litigants can receive remote legal services, file court papers and participate in virtual proceedings.”
DiFiore said it”™s urgent to simplify the court system”™s complex trial court structure, describing it as outdated, inefficient and harmful to the interests of communities of color.
“Our constitutional proposal to simplify the structure of our trial courts will go a long way toward addressing these undeniable disparities in our present system ”¦ creating streamlined statewide superior and municipal courts that will provide us with the flexibility necessary to allocate our resources most efficiently,” DiFiore said.
The plan would consolidate New York”™s 11 different trial courts into a simpler three-level structure.
She said that the judiciary had been affected by the state”™s fiscal problems, requiring the courts to take an unprecedented 10% reduction in planned spending.
“We had to make some very difficult decisions, including instituting a strict employee hiring freeze ”¦ deferring certain payments, eliminating all nonessential discretionary spending ”¦ and, for this year, denying all but three of the application of Supreme Court Justices who requested certification to remain on the bench for additional two-year terms beyond age 70,” DiFiore said.
She said that as a result of the belt tightening the court system has been able to move forward without laying off any members of its staff.
Didn’t the husband of Janet DiFiore work over 30 years at the law firm the Assembly hired to investigate Cuomo? Seems we know already that this investigation will come back with nothing bad to say about Cuomo. There’s no end to the corruption here in NY.