Re-Opening the Courts: Constitutional Issues and Status of the Courts

We are pleased to have the Honorable Charles Eskridge and Professor Geoffrey Corn join us for a conversation about the state of the courts and the legal issues they face a little over a year into the pandemic.  The past year’s pandemic has brought significant challenges and changes as to how the courts operate after almost all in-person proceedings were suspended, including jury trials.  The courts adapted to preserve the rule of law, pivoting to virtual proceedings and other creative solutions to allow in-person proceedings where necessary.  The return to normal has begun, but that only brings new challenges as the courts deal with the backlog of jury trials and other in-person proceedings, although there are also new opportunities to make the system of justice more efficient by retaining some aspects of virtual practice. 

Judge Eskridge will provide us with a status report on the courts in the Southern District, addressing what practitioners should expect in terms of virtual versus remote proceedings, criminal and civil jury trials, and also some of the COVID-specific legal issues the courts are seeing.  Professor Corn will provide commentary on the legal issues that have arisen during the COVID pandemic, such as speedy trial issues and due process issues arising from delayed or remote proceedings.

Featuring: 

• Hon. Charles Eskridge, Judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas 
• Geoffrey S. Corn, The Gary A. Kuiper Distinguished Professor of National Security, South Texas College of Law Houston

 

Cost:

• $10 for members, judges and law clerks
• $20 for non-members