NY gov expands virtual court hearings at troubled Rikers
Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a disaster emergency and signed an executive order expanding the use of virtual court appearances at New York City’s Rikers Island jail on Tuesday, saying it would expedite hearings for inmates and lessen some of the burden on corrections officers at a facility in crisis.
The order allows a court to have virtual appearances from any party or witness instead of requiring them to be in person for a range of different kinds of hearings, even allowing pleas and sentences to be virtual with defendant consent.
In announcing the order, Hochul said allowing more use of virtual appearances instead of requiring inmates to be physically transferred would make the legal process go faster for them. She said corrections officers would be able to focus more on supervision and safety without having to spend as much time on transporting detainees.