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By Hon. Gail Prudenti, Esq.

Hon. Gail Prudenti, Esq.

An annual report — especially from a government entity — tends to be a dry, statistic- driven tome that only a bureaucrat could love. And that’s what makes the 2024 annual report of the Unified Court System so different and distinctive.

The report, submitted by March 15 as required by statute, is less a story of numbers and more a story of people. In the report by Chief Administrative Judge Joseph Zayas, we meet several people whose lives were transformed, and even saved, through their interaction with the courts.

Ashley, a first-generation American, utilized the Scales of Justice initiative as the initial step toward earning a law degree. She is now an associate at a prominent Manhattan law firm.

Keisha was addicted to drugs and alcohol and looking at seven years in prison when she was diverted to a treatment court. Today, she’s clean, sober and prosperous.

Christopher is a Marine who was twice deployed to Iraq and seriously wounded. He became addicted to opioids and alcohol and found himself in jail. His predicament and clear PTSD caught the attentive eye of the local Veterans Court representative, who interceded. That encounter, he says, changed and likely saved his life.

Ronette suffered abuse and homelessness as a child, and enduring physical and mental issues haunted her well into adulthood. She drifted from homeless shelter to homeless shelter, racking up a string of misdemeanors and then a felony that could have landed her in state prison. Instead, she was rescued by an Alternative to Incarceration Court, which steered her to extensive therapy. Now, she’s a successful artist.

Court Officer Steven Byrd interceded when he encountered traumatized children in Family Court, guiding the family through a trying experience.

Yenifer, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, was exiled by her family for getting pregnant at 16, and spent the rest of her youth in foster care. The judge monitoring her placement became her mentor. Yenifer, who had been on a fast track to nowhere, graduated from the City College of New York, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology.

And Anthony, a young man with no criminal record but living in a dangerous neighborhood, procured a gun for his own safety. He was looking at a felony conviction and several years in state prison when he was diverted to U-CAN, a court-based mentoring program. Today, Anthony is proudly and honorably serving his country as a recently promoted United States Marine.

We also hear from the people in the trenches who, Chief Administrative Judge Zayas humbly acknowledges, know more about the day-to-day/ hour-by-hour functioning of the courts than he does. Among them are Warren Clark, the District Executive in Suffolk County, who writes of the human trafficking crisis and the way the Family Court is helping exploited children. 

Lisa Courtney, director of the Division of Alternative Dispute Resolution, discusses mediation, arbitration and other ways of resolving disagreements quickly and effectively without protracted litigation. James Tardy, the Statewide ADA Coordinator, explains the court system’s commitment to accommodating people with disabilities.

These stories and essays illustrate, in a way that statistics never can, how the courts help people. They don’t merely “process cases” or kick the can down the road. Our criminal courts protect victims. Our civil courts provide a forum for the peaceful resolution of disputes. Our family and surrogate’s courts guide families through what may be the most traumatic experience of their lives.

Today, courts and judges are under relentless, and dangerous, attack and I wish that the public and press would remember all the good that comes out of the courthouse and do what judges do: tune out the noise and base their opinion on facts and evidence rather than who yells the loudest.

Hon. Gail Prudenti is the former Chief Administrative Judge of the Courts of the State of New York, former Presiding Justice of the Appellate Department, 2nd Division, former Dean of The Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University and present Partner at Burner Prudenti Law, P.C.

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By Shannon L. Malone, Esq.

Shannon L. Malone, Esq.

Members of the community have been inquiring about how the courts have dealt with their calendars for personal injury cases caused mainly by motor vehicle accidents during more recent variants of COVID-19. Clients are naturally concerned about their health and the progress of their personal injury cases. 

Moreover, people who have gotten into various types of accidents while last year’s Omicron variant was raging wonder if they, or we, should be doing anything different. Finally, with the recent uptick in COVID-19 reported by the media, we are receiving additional inquiries of this nature over the summer. 

Just ‘how open’ were the courts before the Omicron variant became widespread?

Before the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus became prevalent, the courts in Suffolk County and throughout the state were beginning to “open up” and conduct “in person” appearances for conferences and other matters. 

Trials started when these appearances became more commonplace and seemingly conducted without danger to the court personnel, litigants, and lawyers. First, the court scheduled criminal trials in cases with incarcerated defendants, and then serious felony trials began in the fall of 2021. 

Next, the court started trying civil cases as a backlog of personal injury accident trials had developed. The judges throughout the state were encouraged to reduce the backlog, as it is well known that personal injury cases arising out of car accidents, slip and fall incidents, and medical malpractice usually settle only when a trial is about to begin. Therefore, the need to schedule trials became essential. 

What happened to trials that were scheduled before the Omicron variant became widespread? 

Just as civil trials for personal injury cases were beginning to be held with little or no noticeable spread of the virus, by the end of 2021, the Omicron variant hit New York State and most of the country. 

Several personal injury trials had been completed by jury verdict or settlement in Suffolk County; however, as 2022 began, the Omicron variant caused a pause in starting most civil personal injury trials. While a few such cases proceeded to trial while Omicron was spreading, the cases that involved several parties, such as multi-car accident matters, were postponed until the variant subsided.

What is the status of personal injury cases as of the Summer of 2023? 

Despite the emergence of the apparent new strain of COVID-19, the entire country clearly is enduring its spread. Whether it is a result of the vaccines, people developing immunity, or the availability of medications, most cases seem to be relatively mild. As a result, the courts are operating as they were in 2019, and trials are proceeding in virtually all personal injury cases. 

Needless to say, if you have a case pending or were involved in an accident that caused personal injury, be sure to keep in touch with your lawyer or consult with an attorney if you haven’t done so already, as no one can predict how new variants of the virus will evolve. 

According to epidemiologist Nathan Grubaugh of Yale University, “Delta was never going to be the last variant—and Omicron is not going to be the last one, as long as there is a COVID-19 outbreak somewhere in the world, there is going to be something new that emerges.” 

Shannon L. Malone, Esq. is an Associate Attorney at Glynn Mercep Purcell and Morrison LLP in Setauket. She graduated from Touro Law, where she wrote and served as an editor of the Touro Law Review. Ms. Malone is a proud Stony Brook University alumna.