COVID-19 and military justice (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces)

United States Court of Appeals

for the Armed Forces

Washington, D.C.

In Re:

CONDUCT OF THE JUNE                              NOTICE
HEARINGS BY
TELECONFERENCE
(SECOND UPDATE)

          By Notice on May 18, 2020, the Court committed to holding the June hearings via teleconference. Other alternatives were either impracticable or unsafe in light of both COVID-19 and local and federal guidance in response to it. By separate correspondence, specific instructions were communicated to the impacted counsel to enable their appearance by teleconference. This format brings advantages from a public health perspective but comes with technical limitations.

          The Court is committed to transparency in the military justice system. To that end, and consistent with past practice, the Court will post the day’s oral argument audio on its website as soon as is practicable, targeting an hour after the completion of hearings.

          At the present time, the Court is unable to offer a live feed of the arguments due to limitations on licenses, bandwidth and the systemwide blockage of common outlet websites by our service provider.

          The Court thanks the bar and the parties in the impacted cases, as well as the general public, for their flexibility in the conduct of these hearings.

                                                                            For the Court,

                                                                     /s/ Joseph R. Perlak
                                                                           Clerk of the Court
          May 28, 2020