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4 ¦ JUNE 22, 2020 NEWS

¦ From CT CRIMINAL on PAGE 1 process rights under the Consti-
Castro, Richard Brown and Juan tution of the United States.”
Vasquez. The three defendants The lawsuit states, “The Con-
face different criminal charges necticut Judicial Branch was not
and their cases have all been de- adequately prepared to address a
layed. pandemic or prolonged closure.”
The frustrating aspect of the The lawsuit also seeks to have a
case, Berke said Monday, is that special master or a panel of special
civil matters have been ongoing Criminal defendants have masters make recommendations

in the state courts while criminal filed a federal lawsuit regarding modifying the Judicial
matters have not. Berke is seeking Branch’s policies to allow for video
to have criminal matters held via demanding the state’s conferencing of criminal matters.
video conferencing as civil mat- Superior Court system hear
ters are in state court. In addition, criminal matters via video In addition, the lawsuit also
Berke noted, criminal cases are conferencing, just as civil calls on the Judicial Branch to
held via video conferencing in change its policy requiring pri-
matters are now heard. vate attorneys in criminal matters

federal court in Connecticut and to appear in court in person for
in many other states. hearings when those matters do
“I have no idea whatsoever why take place in criminal court. The
the superior courts in Connecti- latter is needed, Berke said, be-
cut are not doing what the federal cause some attorneys, such as
courts and other states are do- Ruane, are over 65 years old and
ing,” Berke said. “I have no idea have medical conditions that can
why Connecticut has been so un- be compromised if they contract
prepared. We are 13 weeks into the pandemic and COVID-19. Ruane referred all comment to Berke.
we are still not doing criminal matters in the state Judicial Branch spokeswoman Rhonda Stearley
courts.” Hebert said the branch would have no comment
Berke said he spoke to “dozens of criminal attor- since the case was pending.
neys” before filing suit and said they back him 100%. Thomas said he feels the plaintiffs’ requests for re-
“They are frustrated with the process,” Berke said. lief are fair.
“They are angry that civil matters are thrust open “They are asking for modest relief,” Thomas said.
while criminal matters are cast aside. And, from a “They are not asking for millions of dollars. They are
selfish perspective, they are angry that they have not simply seeking changes in the process to allow crim-
earned money in 13 weeks.” inal cases to move forward like civil cases.”
Berke is not seeking monetary damages. Rather, The lawsuit cites numerous states that have been
the lawsuit seeks a declaratory judgment stating the conducting criminal matters via video. They include
Judicial Branch’s policies violate the “plaintiffs’ due New Jersey, since March 16; California and Texas,
since March 24; and Florida and New York, since
March 22.
Visit The matter is scheduled to be heard before U.S.
ctlawtribune.com District Judge Kari Dooley.
¦

Robert Storace covers legal trends, lawsuits and

PHONE: 860-757-6659 analysis for the Connecticut Law Tribune. Follow
him on Twitter @RobertSCTLaw or reach him at

203-437-5950.

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