State task force will examine courts’ innovative use of technologies amid COVID-19

June 18, 2020 David Brand

The task force will examine the use of the technologies that have allowed courts to continue functioning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo: Pexels

Share this:

A new state task force will examine the expanded use of technologies that have allowed courts to continue functioning during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Former Brooklyn Administrative Judge Ariel Belen. Photo: Mario Belluomo/Brooklyn Eagle

Chief Judge Janet DiFiore appointed 24 attorneys and judges to the task force including Hank Greenberg, the immediate past president of the NYS Bar Association, as the chair.

“While a tragedy, the COVID-19 crisis has been an impetus for innovation, leading us to examine what we have learned from the pandemic and how to best move forward,” DiFiore said. “The pandemic’s dramatic impact on court operations has paved the way for the embrace of new technologies and approaches, with a focus on fairness, efficiency and efficacy.”

Other members of the task force include Hon. Ariel Belen, the retired Appellate Division, Second Department judge and former administrative judge of the Brooklyn Supreme Court; Justice Anthony Cannataro, the administrative judge of the NYC Civil Court; and Hon. Edwina Mendelson, the deputy chief administrative judge for justice initiatives and a former Brooklyn Family Court judge.

Barkett Epstein partner Seymour James. Photo: David Brand/Brooklyn Eagle

St. John’s Law School Dean Michael Simons; Barkett Epstein partner Seymour James, the former head of Legal Aid; and Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas, a former Queens prosecutor, are also among the members.

“The COVID-19 pandemic offers a unique opportunity to reimagine how courts deliver services and consider innovative proposals for the justice system of the future,” Greenberg said. “The commission, therefore, will explore the enhanced use of technology and online platforms, and regulatory and structural innovations, to more effectively and efficiently adjudicate cases and improve the accessibility, affordability and quality of legal services for all New Yorkers.”