Texas Courts Zoom Forward With Virtual Hearings
When courthouses across the United States began the process of closing down last month to help prevent the spread of Covid-19, the leadership of Texas’ two high courts wanted to send a strong message: The justice system in the Lone Star State would remain open for business.
Even before Governor Greg Abbott issued social-distancing measures banning gatherings of over 10 people and municipalities began ushering in stay-at-home orders, leaders of the Texas Supreme Court and the Court of Criminal Appeals began looking into ways to keep state courts as operational as possible.
As the third branch of government in the midst of a pandemic the courts had to remain a steady part of society, the judicial leaders thought, and even by the state’s own standards only a very limited number of cases are filtered through as essential or emergency matters.