Litigation
Cal. Litig. 2021, Volume 34, Number 2
Content
- EDITOR'S FOREWORD PPP = POST-Pandemic Planning
- FROM THE SECTION CHAIR The Best Is Yet to Come
- How to Strike the Answer of a Non-Participating Defendant
- Jury Trials in the COVID-19 Era: The Importance of a Predetermined Trial Plan
- Masthead
- Navigating the Adversary Proceeding in Bankruptcy for General Litigators
- Recovering Attorney Fees in Arbitration
- Remedies for the Courthouse Flu: How to Get Your Civil Case Tried During the COVID-19 Crisis
- Revisiting California's No-Citation Rule
- Sheppard Mullin and Beyond: Advance Waivers, Disclosures, and Arbitration Agreements
- Table of Contents
- The CAA v. The FAA: The Dangerous Differences
- The Once and Future Office Market: A Tale of Complexity and Change for Lawyers
- Two #MeToos — A Pair of Book Reviews: "She Said" & "Catch and Kill"
- The Future of the Virtual Courthouse
The Future of the Virtual Courthouse
By Honorable Samuel T. McAdam
The Honorable Samuel T. McAdam is the Supervising Judge of the Civil Division of Yolo Superior Court. Appointed in 2008, he served during the start of the pandemic as the court’s Presiding Judge in 2019-2020. Before becoming a judge, he was a partner at Seyfarth Shaw LLP, where he practiced employment law.
On Sunday, March 15, 2020, the leaders of Yolo Superior Court gathered at the courthouse and listened to the Governor’s directives regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. That afternoon, the court developed a plan to provide fair and timely justice in a safe environment. It was critical to keep all courtrooms open and to maximize public access but also to reduce the "footprint" at the courthouse, given widespread stay-at-home orders.
The next day, the court began building a "virtual courthouse," allowing remote video appearances using Zoom and livestreaming public access on YouTube. Within days, a talented and dedicated court staff â living and working under their own personal pandemic pressures â had created virtual courtrooms for each division of the court. Over the next few weeks, all virtual courtrooms became fully operational and delays in hearings and trials were eliminated.