CP 2020: Interview #3 - Brett Busby

Brett Busby
Supreme Court Justice of Texas
Saturday, April 25th, 2020 at 10:30am
Phone Call

        For my third interview, I was fortunate enough to interview Supreme Court Justice Brett Busby. He was able to share with me some perspective on the COVID-19 pandemic from a political rather than a medical standpoint. We began discussing his initial impression of the outbreak. Due to his judicial position, he was focused on how the pandemic would impact the court system of Texas. A few weeks before the start of quarantine, he got a call from a reporter regarding the potential cancellation of South by Southwest. This was the first time he realized it was going to affect him in Texas.
        He feels that, through the eyes of a court system, Texas was prepared for an outbreak. Over the last several years, the judiciary has been brought into the 20th century under the leadership of the Supreme Court. An online filing system has been developed as well as the use of Zoom for court hearings. This prior preparation using technology to do their business enabled them to have a smooth transition to a social distancing lifestyle. I was interested to learn that their very first oral arguments, were done online recently and went very well. One of their biggest challenges has been keeping up with the day to day work of deciding cases as well as deciding how to help others who are being affected by the virus. There are so many ideas pouring in regarding how the court can help Texans so they are working to find the perfect plan. The court has also issued a stay order for eviction cases because people need safe places today during social distancing. Additionally, they have also issued this pause for garnishes due to people being unemployed and needing money to survive. He is been directly working with the Department of State Health Services for health advice for court situations that need to be done in person. Overall, this crisis has given him the opportunity to learn the importance of how lucky he is to have a job where he can help other people deal with this situation.
     It was fascinating to interview Justice Busby because he was able to share with me a political perspective on the pandemic. Some of his opinions were very different than my other interviewees. For example, Dr. Mcgee felt strongly that the media was not credible but he felt like the media was doing well considering they were having to deal with information from various experts. It was also interesting to see that he was unable to answer my question regarding whether the recent mandate requiring that all people wear masks was enforceable. Since he is a judge, he could not answer that question because it might come before the court. It was also interesting to see how this situation is bringing medical, political, and judicial professionals together to make the right decisions (for example whether or not Texas will close their borders over the summer to limit nonessential travel). His recommendation for my flyer was to inform the public to stay up to date with information regarding the virus.
Here is what I would like to include in my flyer after this interview:

  • Reminder to stay up-to-date on information regarding the virus so that you can make the best decision
  • Short/powerful quote "the choice of 1 person affects the lives of 100 people"
  • Highlight information gathered from the Department of State Health Services. 



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