Let's all reflect today that evictions are proceeding as scheduled in Douglas and Lancaster County, despite the fact that both Courts have issued administrative orders suspending almost all in-person hearings because an in-person hearing is unsafe due to rising COVID cases.

Here is the Lancaster County order.
Lancaster County has only slightly less eviction hearings scheduled every week than Douglas.

Here is the Douglas County order.
There are about 70 eviction hearings scheduled this week. Half of those are today. In person.

So just to recap.
Too dangerous to ask a jury to come in. Too dangerous to have people in the courtroom. Too dangerous to do anything at the Courthouses because there are too many people in a small space and it isn't worth the risk.
EXCEPT

Except if you want to evict someone from their housing or garnish their wages.

Then we can do it. Then it's worth the risk.

Back in March when we tried to shut down eviction court in the interest of public health and of humanity - we were told by the following entities that their hands were tied by the statute in the LL/T mandating an eviction hearing take place w/in 10-14 days of filing:

- the presiding judges of each Court
- the Chief Justice of the NE State Supreme Court
- Douglas County Commissioners
- Nebraska State Senators (a handful of whom sent a letter to the Governor about this)

The Governor can issue an EO suspending that part of statute and so give those presiding judges the authority to suspend eviction hearings as well.
He did this on March 25. It lapsed May 31.
A succession of moratoriums has not halted evictions.

Now, I cannot emphasize enough the absolute shitstorm that will descend upon us all on January 1, 2021 if we do not get more rent assistance and another moratorium. It will be a devastating human tragedy, told through the avalanche of evictions ripping through our communities.

An eviction, under normal circumstances, is chaos. It means finding a new, likely worse place to live, doubling up with family/friends, going to a shelter, going to the street, and trying to get enough money together for a new deposit and a new rent.
That's just the start.

An eviction, now, is death. Doubling up with family/friends puts you and them at risk. Shelters are on lockdown because of COVID outbreaks. The street is there but winter is coming. The social service infrastructure is absolutely at the limit.

Under normal circumstances, I genuinely don't care about your arguments for supporting a system that perpetuates inequity by making people homeless.

Now, I don't care about them because under these circumstances, those arguments don't apply and are meaningless.

Every eviction right now is a threat to public health at best. Inhumane at worst.

We need an eviction moratorium now.
We need more rental assistance now.
We need compassion and humanity now.
We are failing.

The consequences of our failure here and now will be felt for a long time. They will be largely unseen except by those whose lives are ruined if not lost, and those who are tasked with helping.

This is as dangerous as it is unconscionable. And we should be ashamed.

(and since every comment about evictions is inevitably met with some version of "what about..." or trying to cleverly point out something you think I missed let me save you the trouble now and tell you that right now, 8 months in and fighting the same fight, I don't care).