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Allegheny County courts to provide public with remote access to criminal proceedings
Less than a month after advocacy groups said they would sue Allegheny County if it did not provide electronic access to its criminal court proceedings, administrators said the public will be able to watch virtual hearings beginning next week.
Court administrator Christopher Connors said that members of the community will be able to watch online criminal court hearings as long as the covid-19 pandemic continues to force the courts to work in a mostly virtual capacity.
Three times since May, the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania and the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown Law sent letters to Allegheny County Court administration demanding that the public be given access to criminal court proceedings being held online.
In their last letter, sent on Dec. 14, the organizations said they would have no choice other than to sue if the court didn’t follow its constitutional obligation.
“We are glad to see the Fifth Judicial District taking this important step to ensure that members of the public and the press can exercise their constitutional right to observe court proceedings,” said Nicolas Y. Riley, senior counsel at the institute. “We look forward to trying out the new system right away.”
Anyone wishing to watch a case must make a request through the court’s website at: www.alleghenycourts.us/criminal/TRA.aspx.
The administration asks that any request be made prior to 9 a.m. on the business day before the day of the proceeding.
Once a request is made, Connors said, an invitation to the Microsoft Teams meeting will be sent.
The notice for the new process emphasizes that users are prohibited from sharing the Teams invitations, and that it is illegal to “capture, record, transmit video, audio or a photograph of any judicial proceeding.”
Remote hearings will also continue to be shown on video monitors in the courtrooms on the third and fifth floors of the Allegheny County Courthouse on Grant Street.
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