The Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services, The Bronx Defenders, New York County Defender Services, Queens Defenders, and the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem issued a letter to New York State Office of Court Administration (OCA) Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence K. Marks requesting that the Court continue remote appearances and abandon its proposal to recommence in-person appearances until health experts have developed plans for returning to court in a safe manner.

On July 6, 2020, OCA announced plans to unilaterally require in-person appearances in Supreme Court in the coming weeks, in contradiction of a collaborative effort to work towards opening courts only when a safe environment could be guaranteed, reports the New York Daily News.

“This action is literally going to make us the next super spreaders, all of us — the lawyers, the court officers, the judges, the clients, the families. The extent of contact we have in a given day is going to be Cuomo’s worst nightmare since we flattened the curve. We are the second wave. So get ready,” said Lauren Roberts, Staff Attorney with the Bronx Trial Office at The Legal Aid Society.