MD Court watchers, with Fiona Apple’s help, are fighting to keep virtual access beyond the pandemic

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.

Johnson, 55, would drive to the Prince George’s County Courthouse, slide into the hard benches of courtroom 261 and take notes for hours as dozens of people cycled through. Her job, usually alone, was to bear witness — to try to hold the court accountable.

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/