President Of Florida Defense Attorneys Says In-Person Jury Trials Are Not Safe Enough

From the Florida Phoenix:

By Laura Cassels

November 24, 2020

Coronavirus is disrupting jury trials as defendants, court personnel, and even the accused contract the virus during proceedings.

After two defendants and a bailiff tested positive for COVID-19 during trials last week in Jacksonville, the president of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers warned that it’s proving nearly impossible to prevent the virus from spreading during in-person hearings.

That president, Mitch Stone, said some of his members prefer to press on with trials in hopes of getting their clients out of jails as soon as possible, before they contract COVID behind bars.

But others, including Stone, want to postpone at least the “complicated” trials that require scores of witnesses, potential jurors, and court staff to gather in a courtroom for multiple days, elevating their risk of infection.

“There are many people in the courtroom who didn’t sign on for a potential death sentence,” Stone said. “The vaccines are on their way and, it seems to me, that’s the answer.”

The Phoenix requested comment from the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association but did not receive one in time for this report.

According to the National Center for State Courts, mistrials have been declared in at least four states in recent weeks because one or more participants were diagnosed with COVID during the proceedings. Additional trials were postponed because too few potential jurors showed up.

Stone said the danger of COVID is not theoretical. Although he has seen several friends contract and fully recover from COVID, he also has seen three develop severe cases, including a Florida prosecutor who recently died of the disease.

Despite testing protocols, masking requirements and plexiglass barriers, the rigors of conducting trials and hearings — including transporting defendants to and from jails and convening potential jurors from all walks of life — make it difficult to safely and fairly try defendants, Stone said.

For one thing, fewer jurors are willing to serve. Stone estimated it takes 1,500 summonses to seat 200 jurors in his jurisdiction when it used to take 1,000. Also, courts run the risk that a seated juror preoccupied with personal safety may rush to an imperfect verdict.

Another problem, Stone said, is that attorneys face elevated risk every time they conduct jailhouse meetings with clients. Many jails and prisons across the country are riddled with COVID-19 because inmates are confined in close quarters with reduced ability to maintain distancing and hygiene.

Florida Chief Justice Charles Canady in March postponed jury trials and grand jury proceedings on account of COVID but they have begun reopening in some areas of the state.

Stone, who worked with Circuit Judge Mark Borello to reopen the once-shuttered courtrooms in Jacksonville, said some courts are pursuing congressional COVID-relief funding to pay for videoconferencing technology that would reduce the frequency of face-to-face contacts.

Meanwhile, defense lawyers, prosecutors, and judges are left to negotiate which cases to take to trial in person and which if any to postpone, knowing that defendants ineligible for release on bond must wait longer in jail for their day in court.

“We are saying, if you are going to do this [hold in-person jury trials], take into account all the factors that need to be accounted for,” Stone said. “Don’t just ignore it. Address it.”

This story was originally published by the Florida Phoenix. For more stories from the Florida Phoenix, visit FloridaPhoenix.com.