CHARLESTON – The state Supreme Court will hear arguments in up to five cases using remote technology next week.
Chief Justice Tim Armstead said the court only is hearing cases in time-sensitive abuse and neglect and criminal matters. All other cases are being rescheduled.
The April 14 argument docket can be found on the court’s website.
Armstead
“We won’t be on the bench,” Armstead said of the justices. “Some might be in their offices at the Capitol. Some might be at home. We’re leaving that up to the individual justices. We felt that if all or some of us were on the bench, the attorneys might feel as if they needed to be there, too. And we want to lead by example and do it the way we’re asking courts across the state to do it.”
Armstead said the court looked at the criteria put forth in the executive order, so that’s why they’re hearing only time-sensitive criminal and abuse and neglect cases.
“We started out with six cases to hear, but we gave all parties and counsel the option to not take part if they weren’t able to do things remotely,” Armstead told The West Virginia Record. “We’re still working through all of the details. It looks like we definitely will hear four cases, maybe five.”
He said all of those parties, attorneys and guardian ad litems taking part plan to participate via video technology.
“If for some reason there are technical issues, we’re going to be flexible,” Armstead said. “If they have to end up connecting via telephone, we’ll do that. We want to be as accommodating where we can.
“The health of our fellow West Virginians is a top priority at this challenging time.”
Armstead said no other remote arguments are scheduled as of now, but he said that could change.
“We’re just taking things a week at a time, to be honest,” he said. “Once we have this established, we’ll continue to use this when there is a need for time-sensitive cases. Nothing is planned, but it’s possible we’ll do in the same manner for the upcoming weeks.”
Armstead said Supreme Court Clerk Eydie Nash Gaiser has worked hard to contact all parties and attorneys to assess their ability to participate remotely. He said she’ll also have test sessions with each party beforehand to ensure things go as smoothly as possible.
As with all arguments, the April 14 docket will be webcast on YouTube via a link on the West Virginia Judiciary website at www.courtswv.com. The docket can be found on the site as well.