The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly disrupted nearly every aspect of American life, but courts have been particularly impacted. By their nature, courts bring people together on neutral ground to resolve disputes. Indeed, justice is a most human endeavor that relies on human interaction. Nevertheless, innovative court leaders have rapidly adapted court processes to administer justice during the pandemic, for example by allowing parties to meet virtually.

While not exactly easy, pandemic adjustments to court processes have been mostly technical. But adaptive challenges unrelated to COVID-19 have also emerged with the potential to threaten the rule of law long after the last vaccine is administered:

-Troubling instances of disproportional force used by law enforcement – some deadly and many captured on video – have reinvigorated public demonstrations to address racial bias in our justice system.
-Following unsuccessful attempts in court to challenge election results, the rule of law was violently defied by a mob that attempted to disrupt the certification of electoral votes by force.

This interactive session will explore the fundamental purposes and responsibilities of courts, examining how court leaders have used these basic tenets to guide them through the pandemic and can apply them to emerging challenges