March 30, 2021
Excerpt:
CONSTITUTIONAL CONCERNS
There may also be constitutional concerns in remote eviction hearings, according to a case filed in St. Louis, Missouri, by ArchCity Defenders in August.
Eddie Logan, a veteran, lost an eviction trial by phone after being unable to submit evidence or access hearings by videoconference, said Lee Camp, a staff attorney with the legal aid charity.
“He couldn’t see the judge, the landlord, the opposing attorney,” Camp said.
“That puts you at a disadvantage to fully interrogate the evidence brought against you, to cross-examine the opposing party, to let the court judge your credibility by looking at you.”
Eventually, Logan’s case was overturned by the Missouri Supreme Court, Camp said, but only after multiple attorneys assisted Logan for over a month – “a massive amount of resources for one individual to ensure they had a fair day in trial.”
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