Title: Court Access Amid the Pandemic Act
Policy area: Law

Summary:
Court Access Amid the Pandemic Act
This bill allows U.S. circuit courts to dispose of cases without oral argument or to proceed with oral argument, with the consent of the litigants, via video teleconferencing or telephone conferencing during the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) public health emergency. Oral arguments in U.S. circuit court and U.S. district court must be made available for public transmission in real time and be permanently archived on the internet, except for U.S. district court proceedings the dissemination of which would seriously jeopardize public health and safety.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6642 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6642

   To authorize video teleconferencing and telephone conferencing of 
    proceedings during the COVID-19 emergency period, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 28, 2020

 Mr. Quigley (for himself, Ms. Norton, and Ms. Schakowsky) introduced 
    the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the 
                               Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To authorize video teleconferencing and telephone conferencing of 
    proceedings during the COVID-19 emergency period, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Court Access Amid the Pandemic 
Act''.

SEC. 2. CIRCUIT COURT TELECONFERENCING.

    The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act of 2020 
(Public Law 116-136) is amended by inserting after section 15002 the 
following:

            ``teleconferencing for circuit court proceedings

    ``Sec. 15002A.  (a) In General.--During the period in which there 
is in effect a declaration of a national emergency by the President 
under the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) with 
respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019--
            ``(1) a chief judge of a circuit, or, if the chief judge is 
        unavailable, the most senior available active judge of the 
        circuit court, may authorize that cases and controversies be 
        disposed of without oral argument; or
            ``(2) in the event that litigants in a case or controversy 
        file a joint motion to proceed with oral argument, or a chief 
        judge of a circuit (or, if the chief judge is unavailable, the 
        most senior available active judge of the circuit court) wishes 
        to proceed with oral argument, with the consent of the 
        litigants, the chief judge of the circuit (or the most senior 
        available active judge of the circuit court) shall so proceed 
        and shall authorize the use of video teleconferencing, or 
        telephone conferencing if video teleconferencing is not 
        reasonably available, for such argument.
    ``(b) Real-Time Streaming.--An oral argument that is conducted by 
video teleconference or telephone conference pursuant to subsection 
(a)(2) shall be made available for public transmission in real time, 
during such oral argument, on the website of the court in which the 
proceeding occurred and shall be permanently archived on such website.
    ``(c) Partnership Permitted.--The chief judge of a circuit may use 
a third-party streaming platform, linked to or embedded in a court's 
website, in order to comply with the requirements under subsection 
(b).''.

SEC. 3. MEDIA ACCESS FOR DISTRICT COURT PROCEEDINGS.

     Section 15002(b) of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic 
Security Act of 2020 (Public Law 116-136) is amended by adding at the 
end the following:
            ``(8) Real-time streaming.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Judicial Conference of the 
                United States shall promulgate rules whereby any 
                proceeding described in this section for which video 
                teleconferencing and telephone conferencing is 
                authorized shall--
                            ``(i) be made available for public 
                        transmission in real time, during the oral 
                        argument, on the website of the court in which 
                        the proceeding occurs; and
                            ``(ii) be permanently archived on the 
                        website of the court in which the proceeding 
                        occurred or on the website of the 
                        Administrative Office of the United States 
                        Courts.
                    ``(B) Exception.--Subparagraph (A) shall not apply 
                to any proceeding in which the chief judge of a 
                district court (or, if the chief judge is unavailable, 
                the most senior available active judge of the court) 
                specifically finds, upon application of the Attorney 
                General or the designee of the Attorney General, or on 
                motion of a litigant, that the proceedings cannot be 
                disseminated without seriously jeopardizing public 
                health and safety.''.
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