The Marshall Project – Volunteers who monitor courts across the country say they are getting little access to online-only proceedings. “…Monitoring court hearings has become difficult, in some cases even impossible, for dozens of court watch programs scattered throughout cities and towns in the country. They rely on volunteers to sit in open court and take notes in the interest of transparency and accountability. But they said their access has been slowed or halted as virtually every system in the country suspended or reduced public court and moved online during the pandemic. In New York City, anyone wanting to see a hearing has to go to the courthouse and watch on a screen there, possibly risking contagion. In Los Angeles and Miami, officials have not given court watchers a way to join their courts’ video conferences. In New Orleans, access has depended on individual judges, with some being more reliable than others. It’s not just a matter of convenience, the court watchers said. Public trust in what happens in court is eroded when they—or anyone else—can’t witness it, they said, and their presence helps ensure the courts function as they are supposed to…”