Divorcing spouses and their attorneys have been appearing in court remotely since the start of the pandemic.  According to some New Jersey family court judges, court appearances will not resume in person until sometime in late 2022.

In the meantime, more and more divorce cases are not settling.  When divorcing spouses and their attorneys physically go to court for a motion or settlement conference, for instance, they typically have the opportunity to sit down in the courthouse and settle outstanding issues.

When you appear virtually, however, you can simply sign off your computers and cases continue to languish for months with little or no resolution.

More and more cases requiring trials in all New Jersey matters overall – including divorces – have been steadily increasing, resulting in significant backlogs.

It appears that the family court will soon start hearing domestic violence cases in person.  This is important because domestic violence complaints and Temporary Restraining Orders require a trial.  When these trials take place remotely, a judge’s ability to observe the parties’ demeanor and weigh their credibility can be compromised over a camera.

By the same token, when parties and their attorneys physically appear in court for domestic violence hearings, the lawyers often have an opportunity to sit down in the courthouse and work out an agreement where restraining orders are dismissed voluntarily with the agreement in place.

This is far less likely to happen with remote court appearances, however.  As a result, there has been a significant increase in parties requesting domestic violence trials.

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