University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

RACE AND EVICTION DURING THE PANDEMIC

BRIAN GAINES, ; JASON MAZZONE, ; MATTHEW METTLER, ; ROBIN FRETWELL-WILSON,

Content Files
RACE AND EVICTION DURING THE PANDEMIC. GAINES.MAZZONE, METTLER, FRETWELL-WILSON 10.5.2022.pdf

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/114998

Description

Title
RACE AND EVICTION DURING THE PANDEMIC
Author(s)
  • BRIAN GAINES,
  • JASON MAZZONE,
  • MATTHEW METTLER,
  • ROBIN FRETWELL-WILSON,
Issue Date
2022-10-05
Keyword(s)
pandemic, court system, law, landlord-tenant, court personnel
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic altered almost all aspects of life, including judicial proceedings. In response to the need for social distancing to keep users of the justice system safe, courts rapidly instituted unprecedented public health precautions that participants in the court system described as chaotic.1 Courts delayed and deferred cases. They also undertook a period of experimentation with remote and virtual operations. Few if any areas of law were untouched, but landlord-tenant law was especially disrupted. Early in the pandemic, some states and then the federal government put in place broad moratoria on (most) evictions, so that a large class of legal cases was indefinitely put on hold. This Policy Spotlight reviews novel national survey data of attorneys, judges and other court personnel, as well as individuals who had courts experiences during the pandemic. We asked about how people’s housing situations were affected by the pandemic, with special attention to differences across racial groups in this regard. Documenting recent experiences should help to inform discussion of what is likely to happen next, as the rental housing market transitions back to normal now that the eviction moratoria have been lifted. A substantial backlog of eviction cases means that the range of innovations in court procedures will continue to influence outcomes for the foreseeable future.
Publisher
Institute of Government & Public Affairs
Series/Report Name or Number
Policy Spotlight
Type of Resource
text
Genre of Resource
article
Language
en
Handle URL
https://hdl.handle.net/2142/114998

Owning Collections

Policy Spotlight PRIMARY
The IGPA Policy Spotlight Series