SJC Agrees Defendants May Insist on In-Person Hearings

In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Judicial Court held that defendants may, in many circumstances, insist on in-person hearings rather than be forced to conduct a hearing via Zoom. In so ruling the SJC agreed with arguments made jointly by Attorney Wood for MACDL, along with the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race & Justice and the Boston Bar Association. Requiring Zoom hearings has a disparate impact on poor people and people of color: they tend to do worse in such hearings and they have worse access to broadband internet necessary for such hearings. For a more detailed description, you can read the Boston Bar Association’s press release here.