Jury duty somewhere other than the courthouse? Pierce County is considering it during pandemic
Courthouses were not built for social distancing.
That has Pierce County court officials looking at ways to space out jurors when trials resume, including considering off-site locations for jury selection. The state Supreme Court has postponed jury trials until July 6 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We have to have our jurors safe,” Pierce County Superior Court Presiding Judge Garold Johnson said Monday. “They are absolutely essential to justice.”
The jury assembly area at the County-City Building in downtown Tacoma that can usually hold roughly 250 jurors for orientation can hold about 25 socially distanced ones.
“You can see the problem we have just trying to find a space large enough,” Superior Court administrator Chris Gaddis said.
Some of the locations he and Johnson said are being considered are the Armory building next to the courthouse, the nearby Greater Tacoma Convention Center and the former Kmart building near Sixth Avenue and Orchard Street.
They don’t have a sense yet of what it will cost. They haven’t received bids, and the uncertainty of the pandemic means it’s not clear how long the lease would need to be.
The different buildings also would require different improvements in order to work. Some would need temporary rooms built. There also are chairs, desks and podiums to consider.
They’ve talked about doing a mock jury orientation when they have a space to test the set-up and work out any issues.
Security is a concern. Any new building would need metal detectors and other measures the courthouse has.
“Everything that we have there we would have to replicate at an off-site location, and possibly more,” Gaddis said.
They’re working with the jail. Defendants have a constitutional right to be present at jury selection, which means those in custody would be transported to any off-site location.
The court also has been working with the local bar association, prosecutors, the Department of Assigned Counsel and Facilities Management, among others, to figure out how to make an off-site facility work.
Pierce County Prosecutor’s Office spokesperson Adam Faber said: “As all the criminal justice stakeholders evaluate potential sites, our top priority is safety. We will be looking at the overall physical security at these buildings and the security of each converted courtroom. For the safety of all involved, we want to see not only a level of screening similar to the (County-City Building) but also that all entrances and exits are properly secured.”
In addition to security, DAC director Michael Kawamura said one of his office’s main concerns would be that the location “strictly comply with current public health mandates.”
Another concern, Kawamura said, would be “that the environment allows existing rules regarding interaction between attorney and client such as the ability to have confidential conversations, allow access to resource material and communication to support staff and necessary technology, and provide open courtroom access, etc.”
The trials themselves, not just jury selection, will look different when they resume. There are about 1,500 criminal trials and 500 civil jury trials pending, the court said.
Gaddis said they can usually handle as many as 12 trials at a time at the County-City Building. They think they’ll be able to handle about five while socially distancing.
Jurors will be spaced throughout the jury box and the gallery during trial proceedings. Afterward, the jury will go to an adjacent courtroom to space out and deliberate. The jury rooms where they’d usually go are too small to socially distance.
Gaddis said they might be able to use some additional courtrooms for trials with strategically placed plexiglass shields. And he said it’s possible some civil trials could be held at the off-site jury selection location.
As for public access to the courtrooms, Gaddis said they’re looking at broadcasting trials online and possibly creating a viewing room at the courthouse, so that the public can watch proceedings in courtrooms where space is short.
Some court proceedings already are being streamed online.
“It’s a lot of moving parts that have never been considered before,” Johnson said about the various changes.
He said similar social distancing conversations about court are happening in King and Snohomish counties. He thinks it’s a statewide and probably national problem.
Johnson raised the possibility of testing and screening jurors for the coronavirus and making sure everyone is wearing a mask, if necessary.
“It’s just absolutely critical that jurors are here and they are safe,” the judge said.
He noted that May is jury appreciation month and said jury service is something to be honored.
“The sacrifice they make to do this is impressive,” Johnson said. “These folks really do give a lot.”
The justice system can’t move forward without them, Gaddis said: “We need them.”
