FCR special issue on Covid‐19 pandemic

• Published date: 01 April 2022
• Author: Amy G. Applegate,Alexandra Crampton,Barbara Glesner Fines
• Date: 01 April 2022
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12634

SPECIAL ISSUE: COVID 19

FCR special issue on Covid-19 pandemic

Amy G. Applegate | Alexandra Crampton | Barbara Glesner Fines

Planning for this issue began in May 2020, during the initial crisis stage of lockdowns and vague calls for “pivots.”

At that time, Barbara Glesner Fines anticipated need for a “Post-Covid”special issue of lessons learned, and we

thought that a publication date of April 2022 was far enough in advance to provide this perspective. We now know

that the editorial work of sending out a call for papers, selecting articles, and receiving final submissions had to take

place alongside the pandemic as an ongoing source of disruptions and uncertainty. The authors have journeyed with

us in this process. Some articles keep focus on the initial impacts from March through September 2020, which was

when initial titles and abstracts were due. Others take a longer view, adding waves of new data (and an evolving con-

text) into fall 2021. A third approach transcends the specifics of this crisis to examine online family law services that

can operate within and outside of public health crises.

While we are unable to provide a special issue on lessons from a crisis fully resolved, the articles in this volume

nonetheless remind us of the chaos and shock of the early months of the pandemic while inviting us to consider

long-term lessons learned. We now know that there is no going back to a pre-pandemic normal. For example, online

services that were novel have become necessities. In this process, lack of information technology resources has

become an access to justice issue. Pandemic impacts have also amplified and exacerbated pre-existing concerns in

serving vulnerable populations and ensuring access to justice. Finally, pandemic necessity has accelerated technolog-

ical innovations that benefit better resourced court systems and populations. As learned through reading across

articles, a global pandemic encourages cross-national and U.S. based comparisons of resources and innovations in

family law and service.

Articles that remind us of initial and longer-term pandemic disruptions address a wide range of contexts, such as

court services, co-parenting, and support for victims of domestic violence. Asnakech Getnet documents access to

justice problems in Ethiopia as courts closed during lockdown from March to September 2020, without the resources

to offer online alternatives. Focusing on family court in the Amhara Region, she found that women and children were

especially vulnerable given that the limited cases courts would hear as emergency cases did not include family

violence, child custody, or divorce. Family separation needs had to be postponed, litigants and lawyers were often

ill-informed about case hearings, and further confusion was caused by rotating judges on and off cases in a de-

densified courthouse. Claire Houston and colleagues describe studies conducted in Ontario, Canada on early pan-

demic court decisions and professional experiences. Court case assessment was from March to October 2020, while

the professional survey collected data during November and December 2020. Their findings reinforce concern over

the disparate impact of pandemic stressors and potentially limited benefit of remote services for more vulnerable

families. They argue that ensuring greater access to justice through access to technology may require in-person sup-

port for self-represented litigants. Rachel Moyer and colleagues continue attention to system “pivots”with special

attention on serving victims of domestic violence. Their article focuses on how the Crystal Judson Family Justice

DOI: 10.1111/fcre.12634

© 2022 Association of Family and Conciliation Courts

Family Court Rev. 2022;60:163–164. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/fcre 163