COVID-19 and court operations

As many people know, the court system is mostly shuttered for the next month as the nation responds to the growing threat from the coronavirus. Only essential proceedings are going forward, such as first appearances in criminal cases and injunctions for protection from violence. A typical question from families of incarcerated defendants is “can my loved one be released?” There is no standard response. Some judges locally have been scheduling change of plea dockets where agreements resulting in the release of an inmate can be moved up in the calendar. Other bond reduction matters are being evaluated on an individual basis. In my opinion, the pandemic alone will not be sufficient to gain the release of an inmate. The more information, carefully tailored to the case at hand, presented to the Court, the better the chance of an extraordinary result. Feel free to reach out to me on my cell phone, 813.541.9504, if I can be of assistance.