The COVID-19 pandemic created a unique catch-22 for families with ongoing parenting cases. By materially changing the circumstances of everyday life while simultaneously closing the courts, the virus placed parents in impossible situations. Sometimes, parents had to decide whether to adhere to parenting schedules and perhaps expose their children to illness or death, or to disobey court orders and potentially expose themselves to possible serious legal penalties. In other parenting cases, the virus allowed opportunistic parents to wrongfully withhold their children while the courts were closed. In either situation, parents often did not qualify for emergency hearings and, even if they did, an unmanageable backlog in court proceedings realistically prevented their cases from being heard. The same pattern was observed in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and it will logically take place any time a disaster causes legal problems and closes the courts. This article presents national data to reveal the extent to which courts closed during the pandemic and proposes a solution to these catch-22 problems: a system in which states activate special masters to act as mobile or virtual neutral third-party decision-makers. By employing such a system, states would not be exercising any authority that they do not already commonly use, and they would uphold their obligations to families even in difficult times.

中文翻译：

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解决父母的 CATCH-22：危机时期的特殊大师

COVID-19 大流行为有持续育儿案件的家庭创造了一个独特的 catch-22。通过在关闭法庭的同时从根本上改变日常生活的环境，该病毒将父母置于不可能的境地。有时，父母必须决定是遵守育儿计划，让孩子生病或死亡，还是不服从法院命令，可能使自己面临可能的严重法律处罚。在其他育儿案例中，该病毒允许投机取巧的父母在法庭关闭期间错误地扣留他们的孩子。在这两种情况下，父母通常都没有资格参加紧急听证会，即使他们有资格，法庭诉讼中难以控制的积压实际上也阻止了他们的案件被审理。在卡特里娜飓风过后也观察到了同样的模式，只要灾难导致法律问题并关闭法院，这种模式就会合乎逻辑地发生。本文提供了国家数据，以揭示在大流行期间法院关闭的程度，并提出了解决这些 catch-22 问题的方法：在该系统中，各州激活特殊主人作为移动或虚拟中立的第三方决策者。通过采用这样的制度，各州将不会行使他们尚未普遍使用的任何权力，即使在困难时期他们也会履行对家庭的义务。本文提供了国家数据，以揭示在大流行期间法院关闭的程度，并提出了解决这些 catch-22 问题的方法：在该系统中，各州激活特殊主人作为移动或虚拟中立的第三方决策者。通过采用这样的制度，各州将不会行使他们尚未普遍使用的任何权力，即使在困难时期他们也会履行对家庭的义务。本文提供了国家数据，以揭示在大流行期间法院关闭的程度，并提出了解决这些 catch-22 问题的方法：在该系统中，各州激活特殊主人作为移动或虚拟中立的第三方决策者。通过采用这样的制度，各州将不会行使他们尚未普遍使用的任何权力，即使在困难时期他们也会履行对家庭的义务。