It's been a little over a month now since the CJC started to slowly move its way back to some level of normalcy in the wake of the Covid Crisis. Lawyers are regularly appearing in court in person. Defendants are showing up with increased frequency (although the vast majority of courts have mercifully reduced the requirement for in-person appearances). Prosecutors are back in the courtroom and I'll even give Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg credit for sending senior prosecutors from specialized divisions into the trial courts to help work out the docket -- that is helping quite a bit, actually. Cases set for trial come with an admonishment from the judge that the trial date is real, as opposed to the aspirational dates we've been getting for the past year or so.
Zoom started to fade out in many courts. In some courts, it is still trickling out. In others, it's already completely gone. Apparently maintaining the hybrid of Zoom and in-person lawyer appearances is kind of a pain in the butt for coordinators. This has resulted in a not-insignificant level of confusion amongst attorneys as they try to keep track of what courts are zooming, which ones allow it, and which ones forbid anything but zooming. Last week, I walked into a misdemeanor court and was told to walk right on back out and zoom in. The witness rooms were all taken so I went back to my car in the garage and zoomed in, only to be chastised by the judge for appearing late. That wasn't frustrating at all.
But unfortunately, the CJC's declaration of Victory Over Covid now appears to be premature as the Delta variant has emerged. Obviously, the Delta Variant has NOT rendered the Covid vaccines useless by any stretch of the imagination. However, as anyone who follows the actual news knows, Delta is infecting the vaccinated and using them as transmitters to continue the spread at a skyrocketing pace. Fortunately, for those of us who have had the vaccine, the effects of the Delta variant are appearing to be significantly mitigated. For those who are not vaccinated, however, Covid is just as deadly as it has ever been -- if not more so.
As per usual, Texas is slow to react. Governor Greg Abbott seems to be in a thus-far-undeclared race for the Republican nomination for President in 2024 by trying to be a bigger lunatic than Florida Governor Ron DeSantis when it comes to refusing to allow mask mandates. Since there is no mask mandate, the CJC apparently can't order people to put on masks prior to entering the building. I was in court yesterday, and although there is definitely an increase in people wearing their masks, there was a solid 40% or so who were not.
Today, Bexar County announced that is was suspending jury trials (again) for the time being in response to the rapidly accelerating Delta variant. It is my guess that other major counties will soon follow suit and/or the Texas Supreme Court will issue another emergency order, suspending jury trials across the State.
Just today, I've had two friends who are defense attorneys tell me that they have Covid (despite their vaccinations) and I've been told of a third friend who tested positive. Yesterday, District Attorney Kim Ogg announced that she had tested positive despite being vaccinated, and there are rumors of several other people in the Office being positive as well. The fire has most definitely jumped over the firewall, and the question now becomes how long it will take for the CJC to react accordingly.
I've had multiple two people reach out to me and ask me to blog something, imploring the judges to go back to Zoom dockets and go back ASAP. So, here you have it.
The Delta variant is scary as hell in general, and deadly terrifying for the unvaccinated. Sadly, we cannot rely on many dumb asses grown adults to get the vaccine or even wear masks, in some cases. Continuing to require in-person appearances for anyone - prosecutor, defense attorney, defendant, or court staff, is subjecting people to exposure to a virus that we would inevitably take home and expose our children to. For those of us with a child too young to be vaccinated, that's a very frightening likelihood.
I know how frustrating this is. The past month back in the CJC has been fantastic, quite frankly. I've loved being back. I love working on cases with prosecutors in the same room. It has truly been an example of not realizing how you enjoy something until it is taken away from you. Don't get me wrong, I still stand by my completely awesome DISCO plan, but when all is said and done, I've actually been very happy to be back in that shitty old building for the past month or so.
I don't really want to go back to Zoom dockets, but I don't think there is any other choice under the circumstances. Hopefully, with some of the new diversionary programs announced by Kim Ogg in June, cases will move with more ease now. But as long as the Governor refuses to look out for our safety, our only hope at the CJC is that the judges will.
So, on behalf of myself and my multitude two of my blog readers, I hope the judges will consider returning to Zoom as soon as humanly possible.
26 comments:
If you're vaccinated, getting COVID is about as serious as getting a cold...deal with it like everyone else who ever had to try a case while they had the sniffles. And if you're not vaccinated, well, your body, your choice.
The real takeaway is that you want to make $$$ without having to put pants on, and you don't want to worry about clients bond forfeiting by letting them "zoom" in from bed.
The vaccine exists. It is plentiful. Stop using COVID as an excuse. If you're so fragile that you can't appear in court due to the threat of getting a sore throat, you should be in the hospital.
Dr. Fauci said masks are useless, so I'm sticking with The Science.
Anon 12:27 am and 5:40 am,
Your reading comprehension is about as bad as your understanding of science. And math. I’m guessing you are some of the anti-science nut jobs I recently clashed with on Twitter. Take that Jared Woodfil/Steve Hotze bullshit to one of their anti-science rallies. Grown ups are talking here.
Thank you Murray!!! This is spot on.
Thank you Murray. 100% agree.
Hi Anonymous, I have gotten the vaccine but I have a school age child who cannot. I guess I could adopt your carefree attitude - that 7th grader is only somewhat likely to need a vent if she gets sick. People who work - worked and made headway on cases through Zoom. People who aren't workers will surf resets in-person or zoom - no matter. Your perspective is on your own personal safety but disregards the risk to others.
I wholeheartedly agree with you, Murray. This plague does not care for our nostalgia or our convenience. It just seeks to replicate. It has never left and won't until there are no more hosts open to infection.
If the CDC wanted us to listen to them, perhaps they shouldn't have destroyed their credibility by knowingly and intentionally lying to us.
I have been vaccinated and have Covid. I am thankful I am not hospitalized or worse. I would like Zoom to return.
If you are concerned about the effects of COVID on a 7th grader, I encourage to look more at the data and compare it to other routine risks that children face. This plague has almost entirely spared the children. That is one of the great blessings of the last year.
I think a hybrid of Zoom/In-person dockets is the way to go. If I've learned anything in the past year is that a lot of the stuff we did was BS. Getting up, getting dressed, fighting traffic, going through security & dealing w/ the elevators for a friggin' reset was really pretty pointless. Remember when the Coordinators wouldn't even give you a reset until you had the DA's signature or had approached the Judge? 🙄
I appreciate this post. I have enjoyed being in the CJC lately, and have managed to really work out more cases than if we were not in person. Lining up to speak with the State, however, means we are in close proximity to them and other defense attorneys. There is no way to do what we do without risking the virus. If it was just me at home, it wouldn’t be a big deal. But it’s not. I have a child and an older parent who has health risks. It feels like no one cares and they are willing to risk lives for trials and the appearance of normalcy.
So much humanity is lost over zoom. In my opinion, any criminal or civil hearing where the Court or Jury tries or finds any fact, disallowing witnesses to any such fact to testify in person is tantamount to a denial of due process of law where the party who objects suffers an adverse ruling.
Thank you for this article. For Anonymous 8-6-21 at 1:45 am typing from his mother's couch, you obviously are not listening to facts. Here are facts quoted in the article quoted here: "Protecting children
The delta variant has thrown the danger of COVID-19 to young children into sharp relief. In Tennessee, the Department of Health projects the state's children's hospitals are on pace to be completely full by the end of next week.
The state's health commissioner, Dr. Lisa Piercey, said the delta variant is rapidly spreading among children, who are quickly showing symptoms after possible exposure, possibly amounting to a much faster incubation time than previous versions of the virus.
Children under 12 are not yet eligible for the vaccine, so the adults around them must be their protection, Fauci said." https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/dr-anthony-fauci-expect-a-flood-of-covid-19-vaccine-mandates-after-full-fda-approval/ar-AAN2483?ocid=msedgntp
Will the new glass elevators be more Wonkavator or glass bottom boat?
Murray, I love you like a brother but let's be real.
-99.5% of the people infected with SARS CoV 2 who develop serious symptoms are unvaccinated
-any human being currently residing in the US, legal or not, can walk into any US pharmacy without an appointment and receive a Covid 19 vaccine for free
-there is no peer-reviewed legitimate scientific literature that suggests wearing a mask bestows any significant benefit to a vaccinated person.
-If we are worried about the vaccinated people shedding virus to the unvaccinated the simple solution is for the unvaccinated people to either get vaccinated or to wear haz mat suits. For those with small children under 12, mask up and take personal responsibility for your kids.
-at the end of the day it is the consequence of the unvaccinated who are solely responsible for the covid resurgence.
If the unvaccinated do not perceive any advantage to getting vaccinated their selfish nature will prevail; and as the venerable Ron White prophesized, "you can't fix stupid"!
Anon 5:00 p.m.,
"-99.5% of the people infected with SARS CoV 2 who develop serious symptoms are unvaccinated."
Yes, I agree. They are voluntary, walking cell towers who are happy to literally do everything that they possibly can to transmit it. If they were the only ones who suffered the consequences, I wouldn't care, quite frankly. If you are stupid enough to utter the words "my body, my choice" as it applies to Covid, then you deserve all the hell coming at you WHEN (not if) the virus finally gets you.
The problem is and remains those same damn idiots put others in jeopardy by their actions. For those of us who are trying to do everything we possibly can to protect ourselves and our children, we view the idiots who voluntarily refuse the vaccine as assclowns that are pushing back against our efforts -- endangering those who aren't vaccinated because they CAN'T be vaccinated (children) because of their own ignorance.
The idiots that don't get the vaccine are the same idiots who won't wear masks. They are literally doing nothing to stop the crisis. They spend more effort on stupid, logic-jumping memes than they do being productive. They may pass it to me and I may not even notice. And then I pass it to my kid, and all hell breaks loose.
Sorry man, but there is no logical step that gets around that. If you aren't part of the solution then you are part of the problem.
Murray,
It is absurd for any vaccinated person to wear a mask unless he/she is in close proximity to either a highly immunocompromised individual or a child under the age of 12 (AND only properly fitted and handled N95-N99 masks are effective).
Within 6 months or so 90+% of America will either be vaccinated or will have contracted the virus........Darwin is using the Delta variant and soon the Lambda variant to "vaccinate" the selfish intellectual midgets who shouldn't be in the gene pool.
America prizes free choice. But free choice cuts both ways. If an individual chooses not to be vaccinated hospitals ought to be allowed to choose where those peoples' care is administered and I submit that the unvaccinated be treated in parking lot hospital tents so that healthcare for the responsible segment of society is not compromised.
Anon 5:00 p.m.
The amount of medical knowledge in this thread is astounding. If only y’all had gone into medicine instead of the law, this problem would be fixed.
Or…
I think everyone can agree with the reality of this Eddie!! Having the ability to WFH even just a day or two a week adds so much quality to life.
That being said--cases shouldn't be getting reset without the prosecutor's signature (unless it's an off docket reset). Court settings are settings for ADA's too. That's the only opportunity we really have to discuss the case, remind the ADA of evidence you still need, etc. I can't tell you how many times I've thought "oh we could have easily worked this out" if the attorney didn't just reset and leave. If you do that for 2 or 3 settings, you'll have a new ADA on the case by the time you get talking LOL. I know you're not that kind of attorney Eddie, but there's enough of that happening that adds to the problem.
Well said!!!
Love to see people who don’t seem to understand the basics a communicable diseases opining to downplay a global pandemic. The current vaccines seem to be losing ground to variants. This is not unusual- it is why reaching high percentages of vaccinations are crucial to stopping spread. When a large percentage of the population remains unvaccinated, there remains a huge pool for continuing mutations. These mutated strains can be resistant or immune to existing treatment. This seems to be exactly what is happening with the delta variant. Epidemiologists are extremely concerned with a runaway strain developing.
Ignoring the current situation and wishing ill on the unvaccinated (many of whom are children, have immunodeficiencies, etc.) is just as ignorant and destructive as the other forms of denialism.
Given the tremendous increases in spread, the incidence of infection in vaccinated individuals, and the large still unvaccinated population, the recommendations are going back to options limiting spread, including masks. Really, we should be requiring vaccination by this point, but we seem to have forgotten everything we learned from smallpox, Spanish flu, polio, etc. so people will continue to needlessly suffer and die.
Get back to work or find a job where you don’t have to deal with people. If you are still afraid at this point, even after having a vaccine that statistically allows you to live without serious complications from the virus, then why worry about it. If you are vaccinated you have a greater risk of being killed due to an alcohol related car accident or murder, directly caused by our failed “re-imagining” of bond reform for habitual violent criminals. Don’t pee out of the the newly remodeled windows of the criminal courthouse and tell the working “peasants” walking to their jobs outside it is raining.
Zoom Stock,
I, along with everyone else at the CJC, have been working continuously since the start of the pandemic, so feel free to get some education about what's going on before you come here with more stupid comments.
Also drug and alcohol related deaths spiked in Harris County in 2020, much like COVID, so just a really dumb comparison all around.
In a place like Harris County, where we may have 8-10 settings before all the evidence is in, and where we communicate routinely with the DA on the case, Zoom was a Godsend.
If a "hearing" wasn't contested it is most often nothing more than trying to keep presure on the parties to move the case forward amounts to little more than bond enforcement.
It inconviences millions of defendants over the years for no real reason.
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