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4 ¦ NOVEMBER 23, 2020 NEWS

¦ From NEW DATE on PAGE 1 Connecticut attorneys expressed
skyrocketed to 6.1% on Oct. 29, frustration over the process.
the highest since June. Wethersfield attorney Matthew
The numbers from Friday, Nov. Chief Court Administrator Forrest, who handles personal
13, though, are what much of the injury and civil litigation, said
country is experiencing: the virus Patrick Carroll III said Monday he reached out to a
is continuing to cause havoc on all last week: “The positivity lawmaker to try to get some move-
segments of the population. And ment on the state courts.
that includes the courts. rates and uncertainty
regarding the trends of “I have spoken to my state leg-
As it relates to the three federal the virus render unsafe, at islator about the issue and the
courthouses in the state—located this point, to bring large seriousness of protecting justice

in Bridgeport, New Haven and numbers of people into our in our society. We have to find a
Hartford—Chief Judge Stefan Un- courthouses to conduct way to establish justice. If that’s
derhill of the U.S. District Court
for the District of Connecticut on jury trials.” by a jury or a judge, we must
have a path for disputes to be
Monday said there might be one resolved,” said Forrest of Forrest
civil trial, now slated for Decem- McPadden.
ber. Forrest, also a longtime town
“As things stand now, we will have no criminal councillor in Wethersfield, continued: “I would
trials going forward through the end of the year, be- imagine the judges are considering concepts like
cause of COVID, at least in part,” Underhill said. virtual jury trials and well-spaced, in-person hear-
Underhill, who noted that federal courts see much ings and trials. I recognize the daunting task that
fewer cases than do state courts, added, “We had an our jurists must face and I have offered at various
hourlong conference call on Friday with the medi- pretrials to assist in any way I can.”
cal experts. We are more reluctant than the medical As of late Friday afternoon, Connecticut had re-
experts are in going forward. It’s not just about being corded 88,645 cases of the coronavirus and 4,737
safe, there also has to be a perception that things are deaths, according to the governor’s office.
safe by prospective jurors,” Underhill said. ¦

Underhill continued: “It’s more concerning than Robert Storace covers legal trends, lawsuits and
frustrating. The courts are here to hear cases. We analysis for the Connecticut Law Tribune. Follow
want to do what we can, but public safety concerns him on Twitter @RobertSCTLaw or reach him at
override that and so we’ve got to be very careful.” 203-437-5950.

Law School Applicants Are Way Up.
Is It an ‘RBG Moment’?

By Karen Sloan

Is law school suddenly a hot ticket? Or are aspiring surge in applications this cycle, as well as what looks
attorneys submitting their law school applications to be a notable uptick in the number of applicants
earlier in the year because they have extra time on with high scores on the Law School Admission Test.
their hands thanks to COVID-19? As of Monday, the total number of law school appli-
Admissions officials at law schools across the cants was up 32% compared to this time a year ago,
country are struggling to make sense of an early and the number of applications submitted thus far is

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