The COVID-19 pandemic has taken and continues to take an unprecedented public health and economic toll on our state. Most of the conditions are known all too well: the deaths of hundreds of our fellow Georgians and illness to thousands of others, devastating families and straining the capacity of our hospitals and other health care providers. With more than a million Georgia workers having filed for unemployment and state government facing a budget shortfall in the billions of dollars, the impact on the economy is like nothing we’ve seen in our lifetimes.

A less-obvious result of the pandemic—because, understandably, the public health and economic crises have been the focus to date—is its dramatic effect on Georgia’s justice system. Last month, Chief Justice Harold Melton of the Supreme Court of Georgia declared a statewide judicial emergency, essentially grinding the wheels of justice to a temporary halt, except for matters critical or essential to protecting the “health, safety and liberty of individuals.”