Connecticut residents can now find information about remote hearings on the Judicial Branch’s new remote events webpage. The page launched Friday following advocate and lawmaker calls to better protect people from being arrested by ICE agents outside courthouses.
Attorney Stephen N. Ment, the executive director of the branch’s External Affairs Division, said in a statement that the webpage is meant to expand access to justice for everyone the Judicial Branch serves, including people with mobility or transportation issues.
The page consolidates information about remote proceedings in one place. It includes how to request a remote hearing and join a virtual meeting, as well as reference guides and a link to download the Microsoft Teams application.
Someone can request a hearing for family, civil, criminal and juvenile court cases. They must have access to an electronic device that supports Microsoft Teams. The court then decides whether to approve the request.
In a press release, the Democratic leaders of the state Senate applauded the branch’s action, and said remote hearings allow people to participate in court without worrying about the possibility of an immigration arrest.
“Government gets criticized for bureaucratic delay, but in this case, the Connecticut Judicial Branch listened to our concerns about people missing court appearances because they are terrified of ICE and they didn't wait for the General Assembly to pass a law to make its proceedings more accessible for all Connecticut residents, including those living in fear of the Trump regime's lawless immigration forces," Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney and Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff said in the statement.
Immigration enforcement took place both inside and outside courthouses in Connecticut last summer.
In one example, masked federal officers arrested two men in a state judicial building in Stamford last August.
“They were basically hiding behind bushes waiting to spring out at people,” immigration lawyer Philip Berns said about federal agents operating in Stamford.
In response to increased ICE operations, a group of 21 state senators sent a letter to Connecticut Supreme Court Chief Justice Raheem Mullins last year urging the Judicial Branch to adopt protocols that safeguard vulnerable people.
The next day, nearly a hundred Connecticut organizations co-signed a similar letter to Gov. Ned Lamont and congressional leaders demanding action to protect immigrant communities.
In those letters, advocates and lawmakers called on the Judicial Branch to provide the option for remote appearances for all court events, and ban ICE arrests at courthouses and in transit to and from them.
On Sept. 16, Mullins issued a policy banning officers from wearing face coverings in court without prior approval unless they have a medical need. It also requires a judicial warrant for most immigration arrests to be carried out on courthouse grounds.
The policy became state law in November.
Observers such as Berns believe ICE activity near courthouses has since died down, though he said federal agents still sometimes show up, and could resume arrests near courts in the future.
Berns said enabling remote attendance saves judicial and police resources, since fewer people miss court appearances out of fear of being detained, leading the courts to issue fewer warrants for their arrest.
“We're not going to have our local and state police chasing after people for not showing up in court when they had a reason we can all understand for not doing so,” Berns said.
Berns hopes the community can learn of this opportunity quickly, now that information about accessing remote hearings is readily available.
“No one knows about this remote stuff,” he said. “In my experience, it takes years and years and years for vital information to filter into the general knowledge.”
State Rep. Craig Fishbein, a Republican who serves as ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, said the new page is a procedural rather than substantive change, since remote hearings were already available. He called it "one stop shopping" to inform the public.
Fishbein, a lawyer who handles many domestic violence cases, said he often has to reassure clients that they will be safe in the courtroom. The fear, he said, usually comes from not knowing what to expect.
Fishbein said he still prefers to have clients present with him in court; if they attend virtually and have a bad connection, it hinders the judicial process, he said.
“Many people, they only have one court experience in their life, if at all,” Fishbein said. “Once they learn more about it, it becomes a more comfortable sort of situation.”
