Virtual Hearings
Youth defender checklist on remote hearings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, juvenile courts across the country have adopted video and teleconferencing to conduct virtual hearings. Although initially embraced as an emergency measure, virtual proceedings continue to be utilized even as jurisdictions increasingly lift restrictions on in-person hearings. This new “hybrid” model is being heralded as a groundbreaking way to…
As a general principle and under normal circumstances, the National Juvenile Defender Center (NJDC) strongly opposes the use of remote hearings in juvenile delinquency proceedings. Remote hearings present serious due process concerns, as they create insurmountable barriers to effective assistance of counsel, harm attorney-client relationships and confidentiality, and lead to worse outcomes for youth. However,…