Lawsuit contends Allegheny County judge is illegally blocking access to virtual hearings

An Allegheny County court watch program filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against Common Pleas Judge Anthony M. Mariani, accusing him of violating the public’s First Amendment rights by blocking virtual access to proceedings in his courtroom.

The Abolitionist Law Center’s Court Watch program involves volunteers observing dozens of criminal court proceedings each week and then reporting observations to the public.

Since January, the program has requested virtual access to more than 100 hearings before Mariani. He has refused each time.

“A public court is not only foundational to democracy, but integral to addressing mass incarceration and keeping judges accountable for their decisions — many of which are racialized and have contributed to apartheid in Allegheny County,” said Autumn Redcross, the director of ALC’s Court Watch program. “In the midst of a year-long global pandemic that has disproportionately devastated Black and brown communities, it is not sufficient to say, ‘the courts are accessible,’ simply because the buildings are open.”

The complaint alleges that Mariani’s refusal to provide virtual access violates the Constitution’s mandate that all court proceedings be open to the public, and that he has failed to identify any compelling, narrowly tailored justification to block access.

The lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania and the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown University Law Center, seeks an injunction directing Mariani to provide Court Watch with contemporaneous virtual access to all of his criminal proceedings.

He is sued in his official capacity as a Common Pleas Court judge. A staff member in Mariani’s chambers Tuesday morning said he was not commenting on the lawsuit.

Chris Connors, court administrator, said he would not comment on pending litigation. The lawsuit names only Mariani as a defendant.

Prior to the start of the pandemic, Court Watch volunteers attended proceedings at the Allegheny County Courthouse on Grant Street or in municipal court in person. As it was clear the courts would not be able to reopen fully because of the continued spread of the novel coronavirus, President Judge Kim Berkeley Clark urged the Allegheny County bench to conduct matters remotely using video conferencing with limited exceptions.

Those hearings have been conducted via Microsoft Teams for months. Also during the course of the pandemic, the state Supreme Court mandated courts to make provisions for the public and press to have “reasonable means of access,” the lawsuit said.

It wasn’t until January — nine months into the pandemic and under the threat of a lawsuit — that Allegheny County court administration announced that the public could request access to criminal court proceedings by submitting a request online before 9 a.m. at least one business day before the hearing is to take place.

“Despite the Fifth Judicial District’s general virtual-access policy, Judge Anthony Mariani precludes all members of the public from obtaining virtual access to any of his proceedings. Judge Mariani actively enforces this administrative policy,” the lawsuit said.

When they have requested access to Mariani’s courtroom, the complaint continued, Court Watch volunteers have been told that they can go to the courthouse to observe the proceedings before him.

“Judge Mariani has not provided any justification or rationale — to ALC or anyone else — for refusing to provide virtual access to his proceedings,” the lawsuit said. “Nor has he provided any justification or rationale for requiring members of the public to visit his courtroom in person in order to observe any of his proceedings.”

It alleges that Mariani is the only judge who has blocked access to his courtroom.

“By forcing Court Watch volunteers to physically enter the Allegheny County Courthouse and remain inside his courtroom for an extended period, Judge Mariani makes it impossible for ALC’s volunteers to safely observe and report on his proceedings,” the lawsuit said.

In requesting access, Court Watch emailed his chambers repeatedly to explain that they could not attend in-person proceedings because of potential health risks, but no one ever responded.

The lawsuit alleges that the risks of visiting Mariani’s courtroom in person are well documented.

According to the court’s website, a member of Mariani’s staff tested positive last month after being at the courthouse from 8 to 4:30 p.m. from Feb. 1- Feb. 4.

In addition, his courtroom was closed for two weeks in the fall because of covid. Between Jan. 10 and Feb. 10, nine court employees who had been in court facilities tested positive for covid.

“Nevertheless, despite these repeated infections, Judge Mariani and his staff continue to work out of his chambers,” the complaint said. “He and his staff also continue to conduct his proceedings from his courtroom, even though the vast majority of the participants in those proceedings appear virtually via Microsoft Teams.”

The lawsuit alleges that it is unethical to expect community members to put their health at risk when the court can provide remote access.

“Judge Mariani is actively obstructing safe public access to his court,” said Erica Brusselars, the volunteer coordinator for Court Watch. “He is impeding transparency in a way that hurts public discourse, hurts our tradition of open courts, discourages an engaged citizenry, and blocks people from seeing our criminal legal system.”