It's been a couple of weeks now since the Washington County Courthouse reopened, sort of, after shutting down in mid-March in response to the spread of the coronavirus.
Like the rest of the world, county and court officials had to respond in March based on guesstimates about how severe cases of covid-19 might be and how fast the coronavirus might spread in the community. Now, it's been a month since Arkansas started easing into re-opened shops and restaurants, albeit with "Phase I" capacity limitations. The world is, slowly, seeking a balance between economic recovery and protecting everyone's health.
What’s the point?
Openness is vital to preserving trust in the local judicial system.
The reopened courthouse is still operating on a "come-if-you-have-to-but-we-really-don't-want-you-to" basis. And in these times, the availability of online options for conducting a lot of business makes that far more possible than in the past. But what about justice?
In March, the Supreme Court ordered in-person court proceedings be limited to critical matters, but remember, people's lives are involved. The judicial system can't just screech to a halt and let accused people flap in the breeze. Cases need to be advanced and resolved.
The judicial system across Arkansas marches on, but without the public.
Let's not pretend large crowds show up when the courts are in session, but one of the foundations of our judicial system is its openness, its transparency. Our free culture relies on the absence of star-chamber proceedings and the presence of open hearings and trials. Indeed, whatever faith is left in the judicial system is buoyed by transparency.
Courtrooms these days are pretty small, but there is room in most for residents who want to show up while maintaining social distancing necessary to reduce the transmission of coronavirus. An easy solution, whether talking about public meetings or the courts, is to exclude the public, but we call on judges and elected officials to go that extra mile to preserve the values of open government and transparency.
Commentary on 06/02/2020