Recently, in this column, I put forward the proposition that Municipal Courts, as we have come to know them, have changed dramatically with COVID and common internet use and that these changes would permanently affect the very nature of how these courts operate going forward. With the passage of time since my last effort, I offer a redux of what it appears to have become over the intervening few months.

If there is a basic theme, it would be that the system is in a general state of disorganization.  There is no consistency throughout the state as to what courts are doing and how they are doing it. There is no basic process that makes the experience the same in one court as another. Different conferencing systems are used in different courts, sometimes Zoom, sometimes Microsoft Meetings. Some courts require one click to enter the system, some require the entry of meeting numbers and passwords. Some courts admit everyone at the outset, others establish times for appearances. Bottom line is that there does not seem to be a basic procedure followed by all courts.