Before the pandemic shut down courthouses across Maryland, Carmen Johnson was one of the only members of Court Watch PG to sit in on bail bond hearings every day of the week.
Then in March 2020, the coronavirus pushed courts in Maryland online, a decision by the judiciary that kept the public safe while ensuring its constitutional right to court access. With that increased accessibility came an influx of hundreds of new Court Watch PG volunteers who could suddenly help observe proceedings through remote video or their phones across the region and nation: law students, high-schoolers, retirees and even Grammy-winning musician Fiona Apple.
Now, as the world eases back to its old ways, those observers fear their virtual access will be cut off — and they are scrambling to persuade lawmakers at the Maryland State House to cement court transparency into law...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/03/18/virtual-court-access/
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