Coronavirus Pennsylvania: COVID-19 Pandemic Forces Commonwealth To Hold First Online Hearing
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Pennsylvania's Liquor Control Board was sued earlier this month by two wine dealers that want to sell directly to restaurants, instead of having to sell to state stores. A hearing over the matter is being held Tuesday, and for the first time in Pennsylvania, it's online.
Online court etiquette can be very different than typical courtroom procedures. Usually at court, when the judge enters the room, everyone is supposed to get up.
So at the Commonwealth Court's first virtual hearing on Tuesday morning, this was asked.
"This may sound silly, but do you want us to stand up in our own houses when he comes up on the screen?"
"No, no one has to stand."
After the judge entered, the hearing started.
At issue is the state Liquor Control Board essentially blocking wine dealers from selling directly to restaurants.
With state stores only offering curbside pickup, wine dealers are still grappling with a big loss of revenue. And restaurants, like Jet Wine Bar at 15th and South Streets, are grappling with a short supply.
"We almost ran out of wine and a lot of places almost ran out of wine because we could not get it," Jet Wine Bar owner Jill Weber said.
Meantime, with today's online hearing being a first for Pennsylvania, should hearings always be streamed like some states already do? The Philadelphia Bar Association says that may not be a good idea.
"Trials, whether civil or criminal trials, are not meant to be a public spectacle," said Philadelphia Bar Association Chancellor A. Michael Snyder. "I don't know that there is a great public advantage to the public in that happening for them. I mean, it may be entertainment, but I think the last thing that anybody involved in the court system, whether a judge or an attorney, is to have it feel like a scripted reality show."
Still, the Pennsylvania Supreme continues to have jury trials suspended for the foreseeable future.
