PITTSBURGH – Litigation from a public interest law organization against a criminal court judge in Allegheny County, which claimed that the judge violated the First Amendment through preventing the plaintiff and members of the public from remotely observing criminal proceedings in his courtroom, has been settled and withdrawn.
Abolitionist Law Center first filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania on March 2 versus Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas Judge Anthony D. Mariani. Both parties are of Pittsburgh.
The plaintiff is a nonprofit law firm which oversees a court-watching program in Pennsylvania’s Fifth Judicial District, which includes Allegheny County. The program’s volunteers observe dozens of criminal hearings each week, in order to monitor the day-to-day operations of the County’s justice system and share those observations with local community members, advocates and journalists.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Court Watch volunteers have been observing these proceedings virtually. Court Watch volunteers publish their observations online in articles, essays and other forms.
“The President Judge’s latest order – which was issued on Feb. 24, 2021 and remains in effect – states: “This Court continues to recognize that, due to the high number of positive COVID-19 tests in Allegheny County, ongoing efforts must be made to reduce the amount of people present in court facilities while keeping the courts open to the public,” the suit stated.
“To that end, the order mandates that as many proceedings as possible be conducted through virtual means. The order provides, with limited exceptions, that ‘all matters shall be conducted remotely via Advanced Communication Technology (ACT) and no in-person hearings or proceedings shall occur in any division of the Court of Common Pleas.’ Consistent with that directive, judges in the Court of Common Pleas now conduct almost all of their proceedings virtually, using a video conferencing platform called Microsoft Teams.”
Despite the Fifth Judicial District’s general virtual-access policy, the suit claimed Judge Mariani precludes all members of the public from obtaining virtual access to any of his proceedings, a policy he personally and actively enforces.
“ALC’s volunteers have requested virtual access to over one hundred hearings before Judge Mariani since January 2021. He has refused access each time,” per the suit.
“When ALC’s volunteers submit these requests for access, they typically receive a response from Judge Mariani’s chambers email address acknowledging the request, but stating that observation would only be permitted inside his courtroom [as opposed to remotely].”
Despite the public health risks associated with the act of visiting Judge Mariani’s courtroom during the COVID-19 pandemic – which ALC volunteers cited in messages to the judge’s chambers – in addition to two members of the judge’s staff testing positive for COVID-19 in recent months, Judge Mariani and his staff continued to work out of his chambers and also conduct proceedings from his courtroom, even though the vast majority of the participants in those proceedings appear virtually.
The suit said Judge Mariani’s administrative policy precludes ALC’s Court Watch volunteers – as well as the public at large – from exercising their First Amendment rights of access to the courts.
“By forcing Court Watch volunteers to physically enter the Allegheny County Courthouse and remain inside his courtroom for an extended period, Judge Mariani makes it impossible for ALC’s volunteers to safely observe and report on his proceedings,” per the suit.
“The lack of access to Judge Mariani’s proceedings has a significant impact on ALC’s ability to observe and report on Allegheny County’s justice system. Judge Mariani is one of 14 judges in the Court of Common Pleas’ Criminal Division and presides over a significant portion of the Fifth Judicial District’s probation-violation docket. Without access to his hearings, ALC cannot observe (much less evaluate) the parties’ arguments or Judge Mariani’s demeanor on the bench, among other things.”
According to the lawsuit, Judge Mariani has not provided any justification or rationale – to ALC or anyone else – for refusing to provide virtual access to his proceedings, nor has he provided any justification or rationale for requiring members of the public to visit his courtroom in person, in order to observe any of his proceedings.
“Numerous other courts in Pennsylvania have successfully provided the public with remote audio or visual access to their proceedings during the pandemic. Many states and major cities around the country have also provided remote public access to criminal and civil proceedings without any adverse consequences,” the suit said.
UPDATE
On May 3, the Abolitionist Law Center filed to withdraw its suit against Mariani without prejudice, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a)(1)(A)(i) and due to a settlement being reached in the case. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania Judge Cathy Bissoon issued a non-electronic, text-only order closing the case on the very same day.
“The Court has been advised that the above-captioned action has been settled and that the only matters remaining are the execution of the settlement document and the compliance of the terms set out in the settlement agreement. It appears that there is no further action required by the Court at this time,” Bissoon said.
“It is, accordingly, hereby ordered that the Clerk mark the above-captioned case closed; that nothing contained in this Order shall be considered a dismissal or disposition of this action, and that should further proceedings therein become necessary or desirable, either party may initiate the same in the identical manner as if this order had not been entered. Further, the Court expressly retains jurisdiction in this matter to consider any issue arising during the period when settlement is being finalized, including, but not limited to, enforcing settlement,” Bissoon said.
The plaintiff was represented by Witold J. Walczak of the ACLU of Pennsylvania and Nicolas Riley of the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection, in Washington, D.C.
The defendant was represented by Geri St. Joseph of the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, in Philadelphia.
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania case 2:21-cv-00285
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com