Over the past few weeks, I've spent my time over Zoom with clients, prosecutors, judges, probation and court staff. Handling criminal cases over the internet has become the new normal for now. Wanted to share some practical advice for clients and other attorneys based on my experience.
#1 - Just because the case is over Zoom does not make it any less serious or demanding. Every Zoom hearing I have done, the judge is sitting in his/her chair in the courtroom with the full power over the case as if we were in person. Any violations of bond or non-compliance is one phone call to the police away from them showing up at your door. The distance of being over the internet will not save or excuse non-compliance.
#2 - You must dress and act as if you were in the physical courtroom. This means wearing court appropriate clothing, participating in the case in a suitable area of your home with good lighting, no distractions and confirming a good internet connection. You should act as if the judge can see and hear everything going on around you. A good pro-tip is to mute your sound if you find yourself in a virtual waiting room as other cases are going on.
#3 - You must address the court in the same manner as if you were a few feet away from the judge. This means referring to the judge as "your honor" and showing complete respect to the proceeding.
#4 - Payments and obligations don't change because you're on a computer. If fines are assessed, those will still be due; most courts have online payment, you can mail a check or use a drop box. Failure to pay or fulfill an obligation has the same consequences despite the proceeding over Zoom.
The final piece of advice is not followed by the majority of attorneys and clients. It is NOT required so if you're reading this, and you haven't done this, it doesn't mean you'll be in trouble, but in my opinion, you're not maximizing your situation.
#5 - COME PREPARED! - this means proactively working on your case even before the hearing. Your attorney should have worked something out with the prosecutor in advance, potentially addressed any issues with the court and judge ahead of the hearing, and maybe even spoke to the probation department. Due to the lack of in-person interaction, it's sometimes difficult to cover a lot of issues, if something is complicated, it may not be addressed properly over the computer. It is best to do the pre-work and turn the Zoom conference into a formality/simple proceeding with the heavy lifting already done.
All of my clients are extremely proactive from day one, and this is even more important handling cases via Zoom. Judges and prosecutors have more downtime in reviewing files, and my clients are able to participate in this process by providing substantial pre-court progress. We can work toward changing the perception of a client's case well ahead of signing into Zoom.
I've had a lot of success over the past few weeks with my clients, because we are miles ahead of the game, and make things easy for a prosecutor and judge to say YES to our requests.
#1 - Just because the case is over Zoom does not make it any less serious or demanding. Every Zoom hearing I have done, the judge is sitting in his/her chair in the courtroom with the full power over the case as if we were in person. Any violations of bond or non-compliance is one phone call to the police away from them showing up at your door. The distance of being over the internet will not save or excuse non-compliance.
#2 - You must dress and act as if you were in the physical courtroom. This means wearing court appropriate clothing, participating in the case in a suitable area of your home with good lighting, no distractions and confirming a good internet connection. You should act as if the judge can see and hear everything going on around you. A good pro-tip is to mute your sound if you find yourself in a virtual waiting room as other cases are going on.
#3 - You must address the court in the same manner as if you were a few feet away from the judge. This means referring to the judge as "your honor" and showing complete respect to the proceeding.
#4 - Payments and obligations don't change because you're on a computer. If fines are assessed, those will still be due; most courts have online payment, you can mail a check or use a drop box. Failure to pay or fulfill an obligation has the same consequences despite the proceeding over Zoom.
The final piece of advice is not followed by the majority of attorneys and clients. It is NOT required so if you're reading this, and you haven't done this, it doesn't mean you'll be in trouble, but in my opinion, you're not maximizing your situation.
#5 - COME PREPARED! - this means proactively working on your case even before the hearing. Your attorney should have worked something out with the prosecutor in advance, potentially addressed any issues with the court and judge ahead of the hearing, and maybe even spoke to the probation department. Due to the lack of in-person interaction, it's sometimes difficult to cover a lot of issues, if something is complicated, it may not be addressed properly over the computer. It is best to do the pre-work and turn the Zoom conference into a formality/simple proceeding with the heavy lifting already done.
All of my clients are extremely proactive from day one, and this is even more important handling cases via Zoom. Judges and prosecutors have more downtime in reviewing files, and my clients are able to participate in this process by providing substantial pre-court progress. We can work toward changing the perception of a client's case well ahead of signing into Zoom.
I've had a lot of success over the past few weeks with my clients, because we are miles ahead of the game, and make things easy for a prosecutor and judge to say YES to our requests.
