Despite the necessity to do so, it was one of my very greatest pleasures to work with TCDLA lawyers on the COVID-19 Response Task Force Committee during the height of the pandemic in 2020. The work that Chair Clay Steadman, then Co-Chairs Allison Clayton and Nicole DeBorde Hochglaube, along with vice-Chairs Betty Blackwell, John Hunter Smith, and Kyle Therrian, along with the rest of our Committee, did to help the members of this Organization and their clients remain safe against tyranny was as much fun as one could have when courts were shut down. Man, I thought those days were moving past us. It appears what was old may be new again.
On August 4, 2021, Bexar County Judge Ron Rangel, Judge of the 379th Judicial District Court and Local Administrative Judge for the Bexar County Courts, shut down all in-person jury trials again because of the renewed threat COVID-19 has on members of the community. While I suspect that other counties and courts may follow suit depending on the on-going or worsening COVID-19 threat, there will be courts, judges, and locations where the threat to lawyers, defendants, and necessary witnesses will be ignored. I know that the band will be ready to get back together to fight for the protections of all our members should they be put in danger. Please do not hesitate to contact your local Committee representative if there are situations that arise that make you feel unsafe in the practice of criminal defense. We did not sign up to give up our lives to defend the Constitution. We may give up just about everything else, but don’t forget we all have someone who we have to protect, whether it be ourselves or our loved ones. I hope the new surge is short and that we can sooner get back to normal. Until then, be safe.
