State courts across the country have gradually reopened for in-person proceedings, although many have yet to reach their pre-pandemic operating capacity. State attorneys can barely handle the mounting number of new cases, leaving a trail of extra work every day, all while trying to chip away at the massive backlogs accumulated during months of court shutdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic. Technology and remote hearings have helped to limit the backlog, but they could only go so far in a criminal justice system in which key functions, such as trials, still rely on face-to-face proceedings. The backlog is especially acute at offices that oversee large urban cities, many of which are also plagued by an increasing shortage of state attorneys. It’s an unprecedented crisis that won’t go away for years, according to a dozen state attorneys’ offices and state attorneys’ associations interviewed by The Epoch Times. As a result, justice is …