GOOD FRIDAY COURTS ARE CLOSED

We are in full swing of the holy season. Friday is Good Friday. Sunday is Easter. Saturday is apparently just Saturday. For those of you celebrating Passover, matzo is probably getting old by now. For those of you celebrating the death and resurrection of your savior, a weekend of Church, Easter Eggs, Ham and Lamb and chocolate awaits. Friday dawned cool and sweet, a wonderful Florida spring day. 

Thursday was the first day of April. Of course there will be no court in Jackson Hospital ER rooms or in Marlin's stadium. Our post yesterday was a joke. Thursday was also opening day for Baseball. Unlike last year, stadiums were partially full of fans, totally full of hope. Every team was in the pennant race on day one (although by the end of day one, Judge Hirsch's beloved Cubs were already a game out). 

We are approaching 50% of the population being vaccinated. There are daily new reports that the vaccines provide protection against the Covid variants. While there is an uptick in numbers, that reflects the virus searching for unvaccinated hosts. The more we continue to vaccinate, the less people Covid can infect, until...like the way a prosecutor feels after a jury has returned a not guilty verdict, there are no options left for our deadly opponent and life gets back to normal. 

This is why, for the first time in fourteen months, we are calling for courts to reopen. We do not need excessive wiping down of surfaces- no covid-crews obsessively wiping railings and elevator buttons and chairs. The virus does not spread through surface contact. All we need are for all participants (judges, staff, jurors, lawyers and witnesses) to have a covid vaccine card- the "P' word that Gov Ron Denial DeSantos does not like to say- Vaccine Passport. And for everyone to still wear a mask and for administrators to keep crowds down. Continue with Zoom calendar calls. Only bring litigants to the Courthouse for evidentiary motions, change of pleas, and trials. 

Our shoes are shinned. Our suits are pressed. Our ties are just hanging waiting to be tied. 

Meanwhile enjoy this baseball opening day vignette. The first home run of the season. Miguel Cabrera's blast in the ....snow? Yup. In the snow.