Advocates for court transparency are lobbying for a bill before the Maryland legislature that would enshrine the public's right to virtual court access into law.
Throughout the pandemic, Moon said government at all levels had to adapt — at the legislature, city councils, school boards and courts. Continuing that increased access, he said, is “a matter of convenience and customer service these days.”Parents have been better able to participate because they don’t have to find child care. People without access to a car have been able to support a loved one in court without spending hours and money on public transportation.
Their greatest hurdle for passing the bill, Moon said, is the annual cost — an estimated $2.5 million — associated with retrofitting all Maryland courthouses for audio and visual access.Nobody gave oral testimony against the bill, though the Maryland Association of Counties said it was concerned its members would end up shouldering the financial burden and offered its support with a friendly amendment on funding.Chief Judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals Joseph M.
During their public testimony, Court Watch PG volunteers outlined the tangible benefit their remote access has brought to court proceedings in Prince George’s in the past two years. Josh Rosenberg, a college student at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, said he started court-watching as a high school student and has been able to continue because of virtual access — witnessing hundreds of bond hearings in Prince George’s without ever stepping foot in the courthouse. The volunteers, Rosenberg said, have written more than 250 accountability letters to prosecutors, judges, lawmakers and jail officials.
“We have a judiciary in many, many states, not just here in Maryland, but all over the country, that fail in this department of transparency, accountability and the egregious acts they commit to communities, usually of color, every day,” Edwuan Whitehead, assistant director of Court Watch PG, said during testimony.Johnson, who is formerly incarcerated and believes she was wrongfully convicted, told lawmakers that when she went to trial in 2015, her courtroom was empty.
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