Judiciary’s Covid-Era Broadcasting to Sunset as Emergency Ends

A pandemic-era policy that allowed public broadcasting of remote civil and bankruptcy proceedings is set to end after a policymaking arm of the federal judiciary determined Covid-19 isn’t impacting the federal courts anymore, according to information from the US Courts.

The decision by the Executive Committee of the Judicial Conference takes effect May 24. That will begin a 120-day period during which federal courts will continue to broadcast video and audio of any remote civil and bankruptcy proceedings. The policy will come to an end on Sept. 21.

Remote broadcasting of court proceedings was essential to maintaining public access during the pandemic, when many courthouses throughout the country placed limitations on entry into their buildings to prevent the spread of the virus.

Similar authorization to broadcast criminal proceedings that Congress included in the CARES Act pandemic relief legislation, ended May 10. The US Courts, however, says most courts already stopped using remote video and audio in those cases.

Courts were allowed to conduct some civil and bankruptcy proceedings remotely before the pandemic, but the courts’ broadcasting policy prevented them from providing remote public access, according to a spokesperson for the Administrative Office of the US Courts.

A committee of the Judicial Conference is currently studying potential changes to the broadcasting policy for civil and bankruptcy proceedings following the pandemic. That committee could report findings as soon as the next Judicial Conference meeting in September.