Andrea Cabral: Court Proceedings Move Online During COVID-19 Crisis

Hannah Uebele is a producer for Under the Radar with Callie Crossley and previously worked as associate producer for Boston Public Radio. She graduated from Tufts University with a B.S. in English and Environmental Studies. She's a proud Delawarean but has found herself saying "wicked" more and more often, so the Bostonian metamorphosis is well underway.Contact: hannah_uebele@wgbh.org

April 30, 2020

Updated August 07, 2023

Andrea Cabral, former secretary of public safety and sheriff of Suffolk County, spoke with Boston Public Radio on Thursday about court proceedings moving online during the coronavirus pandemic.

"Once there was a stay at home order in effect, the need to continue the public's business didn't abate," Cabral said. "So people have been finding lots of ways to still hold proceedings and meetings, particularly under the open meeting law here in Massachusetts."

The Northern District in California has been participating in 'Cameras in the Courtroom Pilot Project,' Cabral noted, since 2011, which makes recordings public after being taped. Now is the first time that they are being broadcast live via Zoom, she added.

"The issue is access, because proceedings that are supposed to be open to the public might not be accessible here if you don't have internet access," Cabral said. "You might not be able to have the same level of public access that was originally envisioned."

Cabral is the former secretary of public safety and sheriff of Suffolk County. She is currently the CEO of Ascend.