During the pandemic, courts across the country, including in Dallas County, began hearing cases via Zoom and other live-streamers. It’s been more than four years now since COVID-19 forced the option, and many courts have continued to offer the medium for some hearings. So you’d think that by now, everyone would have figured out a way to secure an online hearing so that it can’t be disrupted by pranksters.Bonsai Casino Earlier today, I observed a hearing in State District Judge Gena Slaughter’s virtual courtroom that was disrupted several times by people who weren’t media, plaintiffs, defendants, or attorneys. The hearing attracted more than the usual amount of attention. It focused on West Dallas resident Janie Cisneros’ lawsuit that, if she won, would compel the city to take her request to consider shutting down the GAF shingle factory in West Dallas. Slaughter continued to remind people to mute themselves, but that didn’t stop one person from logging in repeatedly to share porn and another (or perhaps the same one considering there were 40 people logged in at one point) from playing music for several seconds before Slaughter was able to kick him or her out. A visibly frustrated Slaughter apologized at the end of the hearing, saying she was “very disappointed” that some had joined only to disrupt. She supports providing the general public better access to court proceedings, she said, because “it’s a very important right.” “Unfortunately, I can’t find a control setting that would allow me to automatically block the video of anybody but the attorneys,” she said. “I’m frustrated.” For what it’s worth, the state’s judicial branch website has some recommendations, including streaming the Zoom hearing to a court YouTube account. This would allow the judge to provide the Zoom details only to the lawyers, witnesses, plaintiffs, and defendants while still providing the public access to the proceedings. Making Dallas an Even Better Place
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