Washington — Lori Livingston had been waiting for an eviction hearing since last May, when her original date was postponed as the coronavirus pandemic forced Philadelphia’s courts to close. But when proceedings recently started up again, the disabled 66-year-old was surprised to get a court summons late in the day on March 12, a Friday, for a remote hearing early the following Monday.
Hilda Chan, a staff attorney at Bay Area Legal Aid in California, said the shift to remote hearings automatically puts tenants at a disadvantage. “Landlords have resources. They have easy access to their own attorney, but also a laptop, internet. Those are a given for the landlord but not for tenants who are struggling to maintain rent,” she said.
The judge in Livingston’s case gave her 30 days to vacate the property, though she is looking into her legal options. A spokesperson for the US department of housing and urban development was not available to comment.Evictions during the pandemic have been governed by a muddle of rules and bans at the local and federal levels. Some groups, including the Aspen Institute think-tank, have estimated up to 40-million people are at risk of eviction in the US.
Remote judicial access can be a boon to marginalised communities by ensuring people do not have to travel long distances or wait in crowded courthouses, Refo said, “but we need to be vigilant about the unintended problems inherent to virtual proceedings — starting with the reality that many people lack ... reliable internet access.
Eddie Logan, a military veteran, lost an eviction trial by phone after being unable to submit evidence or access hearings by videoconference, said Lee Camp, a staff attorney with the legal aid charity.