In Support of State Court Personnel During Pandemics and other Emergencies
Resolution 6: In Support of State Court Personnel During Pandemics and other Emergencies
WHEREAS, during pandemics and other emergencies, state courts must remain operational and provide court services to the greatest extent feasible to ensure access to justice; and
WHEREAS, functioning state courts during emergencies build public confidence in the stability of government; and
WHEREAS, from the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, state judicial personnel throughout the country, like other frontline staff, reported to work in person, even before the existence or availability of vaccinations; and
WHEREAS, judicial personnel are both a valuable and vulnerable state court resource, and the health and safety of judicial personnel is of paramount importance to state courts; and
WHEREAS, coordination with executive branch agencies is necessary to protect the health and safety of state judicial personnel when they serve the public as frontline staff by ensuring such personnel have prompt and timely access to vaccines and personal protective equipment; and
WHEREAS, it is important for state courts to be recognized as essential during emergencies and to be included in making strategic decisions that have an impact on the health and safety of judicial personnel;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Conference of Chief Justices and Conference of State Court Administrators encourage state court leadership in every jurisdiction and the National Center for State Courts to:
- Take all steps necessary to protect the health and safety of judicial personnel during pandemics and other emergencies while keeping state courts open to the greatest extent possible; and
- Coordinate with executive and legislative branch agencies to ensure that judicial personnel are recognized and treated as frontline responders, allowing reasonable and timely access to vaccines and personal protective equipment; and
- Engage with high-level counterparts from the executive branch to ensure participation in strategic emergency management decisions in order to communicate emergency management needs specific to court operations and educate counterparts on the importance of access to justice during emergencies; and
- Advocate for federal and state emergency relief to be earmarked for state, local, and municipal courts to ensure that judicial personnel are protected as frontline responders and that courthouse and state judicial facilities provide a safe environment for the public and judicial personnel.
Adopted as proposed by the CCJ/COSCA Court Security and Emergency Preparedness Committee at the CCJ/COSCA 2021 Annual Meeting on July 28, 2021.