Sheltering in place from COVID-19 has meant adaptations, postponements and planning for our four Williamson County Justices of the Peace.
When the first order to social distance by six feet went into effect, our JPs performed weddings with only the couples in their chambers; after the stay-at-home order, weddings went virtual.
For Judge KT Musselman of Precinct 1, who offices at the Wilco Jester Annex in Round Rock, working remotely resulted with him sitting on a couple’s coffee table via a cell phone one day to wed a sheltered-in-place couple seated on their sofa.
For another wedding ceremony, Musselman and guests from throughout the state and country watched from 15 computers via Zoom. These ceremonies have given him the idea of offering virtual weddings after they return to their office.
Musselman also has added new meaning to the traditional vows every time he says, “Keep each other in sickness—coronavirus or not—and in health.”
He’s also exploring how to go paperless, while his staff has rifled through 100 boxes of files to scan and preserve.
Judge Evelyn McLean, whose Precinct 3 office is in Georgetown, gave a whole new meaning to social distancing. She wed a couple at the Children’s Advocacy Center gazebo on the Inner Loop in Georgetown from her car via cell phone, as family members watched on Zoom.
McLean’s staff quickly adapted to Softphone software to answer phones remotely. She also began offering more online services and forms to the public, including online dispute resolution for certain small claims cases.