This year has already been marked by historically large eviction dockets – sometimes...
A family waits for their name to be called regarding their eviction case outside of the courtroom at the Justice of the Peace Court 5-1 on Chimney Rock Rd. on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023.On Valentine’s morning, a woman carried a single long-stemmed red rose to eviction court. To enter through the courtroom doors, which read “Maximum Occupancy 92,” she had to first pass through the crowds of people in the lobby who could not fit in the courtroom.
Such large dockets mean that cases have to be heard at a breakneck speed. Between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. Tuesday, Garcia spent an average of 90 seconds on each case – and still hadn't called 60 percent “While not every eviction can or should be avoided, each eviction case must be given the attention it deserves.”
The proceedings had a rhythm: The plaintiff and defendant’s names were announced, and a staff member positioned at the courtroom doors would call out the tenant’s name three times for the crowd assembled outside. A woman even further away would echo the call another three times.quick they were difficult to follow until repetition made them intelligible:“What is the past due rent?”“Judgment will be issued today in favor of the plaintiff.
Other times, the rhythm was disrupted by tenants arguing they had receipts proving they’d paid their rent, or by a tenant’s lawyer arguing a client had not been given proper notice.Eviction defense lawyers allege judges are going rogue and wrongfully evicting tenants, lawsuits show
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