NPR, August 8, 2020: Virginia Supreme Court Grants Temporary Moratorium on Evictions
… In a 4-3 ruling Friday, the court agreed to a moratorium on eviction proceedings through Sept. 7, declaring that public safety concerns due to the coronavirus pandemic constituted a “judicial emergency.”
“The ease with which the COVID-19 virus can spread, the risks associated with traveling to and appearing in the courthouse for those … with certain health conditions that disproportionately afflict the economically disadvantaged, and the inability of many citizens to access the courts remotely or to hire lawyers who can argue on their behalf, may ‘substantially endanger’ or ‘impede’ the ‘ability of [tenants] to avail themselves of the court,’ ” the majority wrote in their decision.
Northam praised the decision on Friday. The Democratic governor had requested the moratorium in a July 24 letter to the court’s chief justice, Donald Lemons, as congressional efforts to provide relief for renters stalled, allowing for the expiration of federal protections for Americans facing economic hardships due to the pandemic.
