Covid 19's Impact on Sentencing Hearings

As with many areas of the world, the justice system is not immune to the social effects of COVID 19 and the necessary precautions implemented since the virus outbreak. With virus cases increasing daily, the need to maintain social distancing remains a top priority among all legal proceedings and any in-person judicial approaches. With new procedures set-in-motion, many legal cases have either been postponed or canceled, rupturing the balance of the legal structure and potentially halting the freedoms of innocent personnel. Understanding the gravity of the situation has set alternative methods and practices in place, completely shifting the paradigm for attorneys and all further cases involving criminal defense, investigations, plea bargains, and sentencing. 

Detainment Release

The protective procedures the corona-virus has set forth requires inmates to maintain a 6-foot distance apart from one another. Overcrowding makes it impossible to enact safety measures and prevent the spread of COVID amongst inmates. If prison has reached maximum capacity or an abundance of defendants awaiting trial this violates the distance mandate, putting these detainees in jeopardy which infringes their civil rights. According to the Prison Policy Initiative, various states have reduced bail to zero for many low-level felony crimes, criminal misdemeanors, or those held pretrial. Convicts held due to non-violent offenses have been temporarily released based on executive orders and departments are taking the steps to reduce prisoners with pre-existing medical conditions which puts them at a heightened risk. 

Admission Reduction

Similar to detainee release, convict admission, and sentencing hearings have dramatically reduced in the efforts to combat the virus spread. Defendants that do not pose a threat to the community, or are susceptible to contracting the virus, creates flexibility for prosecutors to prohibit unlawful detainment. Officers are required to limit their arrests for minor offenses, and for probationers and parolees, their supervision payments have been suspended, in light of the increase in unemployment. 

Criminal Proceedings

With coronavirus at large, the lack of employment and prison workers significantly reduce the rate of criminal proceedings and sentence hearings taking place. While many perpetrators are being released, those still held under bail have had their trial dates delayed due to limited resources. This prolongs prosecution periods, defers investigations, and ultimately forces the government's hand in suspending the statute of limitations. Under the right to a speedy trial act, these deferred trial dates hinder the policies and time limits associated with each crime under the act. As a result, certain state and federal courts have discontinued the right to a speedy trial rule, pushing back all potential criminal case resolutions.

Essential Vs. Non-Essential Hearings

Since there is no guarantee that matters will return to normal soon, courts have now incorporated virtual technologies such as Skype or Zoom to conduct pending hearings remotely. All hearings, essential and non-essential, should occur remotely unless the defendant is unable to participate in a virtual sentence hearing due to matters out of the court's control. Essential cases that are impractical to carry out via screen go through an operating plan carried out by the district judge and other authorized officials. This plan is submitted to all the courts in the residing area and requires conferring with a hierarchy of judges (district, county, judges of peace, chief justices), before moving forward. 

COVID 19 has shifted the way the legal system once operated making it difficult for defendants to understand where their case may stand amidst the judicial chaos.  The Cobb Law Firm in Florida has decades of experienced criminal defense attorneys ready to help guide you through the parameters of the pandemic and its strenuous effects on legislation. If you want to learn more about the highest quality of representation a Florida law firm can offer, call today for a free consultation. 

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