Courts unmasked : civil legal system reform and COVID-19 / Alyx Mark.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mark, Alyx, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Courts--United States--States.

Courts.

Courts of last resort--United States--States.

Courts of last resort.

Law reform--United States--States.

Law reform.

Administrative courts--United States--States.

Administrative courts.

COVID-19 (Disease)--Law and legislation--United States--States.

COVID-19 (Disease).

COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020-2023--United States.

COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020-2023.

Physical Description:

xiii, 200 pages : illustrations, map ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Lawrence, Kansas : University Press of Kansas, [2025]

Summary:

"The COVID-19 pandemic changed the work practices of nearly every industry around the globe, forcing institutions to quickly adapt to the evolving public health emergency. The state court systems in the United States-from trial courts all the way up the hierarchy to state supreme courts-were no exception. In response to the crisis, they were forced to make dramatic changes to the way they processed cases. The alterations ranged from selecting which types of cases should be prioritized (e.g., petitions for emergency protective orders) or delayed (e.g., small claims) to choices about which standards for filing documents (e.g., via email as opposed to paper) and appearing at hearings (e.g., via video or phone without special permission) could be relaxed. Decisions like these challenge prevailing explanations of how power manifests and process operates in state judiciaries. Informed by an extensive data collection effort-encompassing administrative orders disseminated across state court hierarchies, as well as insights from nearly sixty interviews with elite court actors who participated in constructing and implementing them during the pandemic-Courts Unmasked uses the COVID-19 pandemic as the vehicle for exposing and unpacking the realities of power and process in state civil courts and what this might mean for the future of civil justice reform"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Navigating administrative power in state court systems : a framework for understanding hierarchical and local influences

Linking administrative capacity and state supreme courts' policy choices during the pandemic

The view from below : investigating the behaviors of lower court actors in response to Supreme Court pandemic policies

Beyond emergencies : the influence of power dynamics on administrative policy choices

Conclusion : power dynamics and administrative capacity : directions for future research and implications for state court systems.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Mark, Alyx. Courts unmasked

ISBN:

9780700638253

0700638253

9780700638260

0700638261

OCLC:

1436023505