Jury duty and trials will look a lot different in Pierce County come Monday. Here’s how
Courtrooms and jury duty will look different when Pierce County Superior Court resumes criminal jury trials Monday.
“We’re doing everything we can to make sure that if they come for jury service, they’re going to be safe,” presiding Judge Garold Johnson said this week.
Court officials will take people’s temperatures, masks will be worn and floors and seats will be marked for social distancing in response to the pandemic.
The courthouse won’t be where jurors first report.
About 150 will be called Monday to the Tacoma Armory next to the courthouse, which the court has leased through the end of the year. The County Council allocated about $480,000 of Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding for that.
The extra space will allow for social distancing during jury orientation. Then court officials will take groups of 12 to 15 jurors to the courthouse for questioning as part of jury selection.
While some court proceedings have been held remotely or continue to be held in-person, jury trials across the state were suspended earlier this year as a result of the pandemic. A state Supreme Court order allows them to resume next week.
‘Tremendous backlog’
Johnson said there’s a “tremendous backlog of cases that need to go to trial” and noted people accused of crimes are presumed innocent.
He expects two trials to start Monday and two to start Tuesday in Pierce County Superior Court. With the new safety measures, he said the court can hold four trials at once, and possibly five or six.
About 1,600 criminal cases are waiting for trial, he said. About 600 of those defendants are in custody.
Once jurors are selected, they will sit in spots spread throughout the gallery of the courtroom, where the public would usually sit, to promote social distancing. The public will be able to watch live video streams of the proceedings online, instead of watching in-person.
Jurors will deliberate in a nearby courtroom, where they can spread out, instead of the jury room.
Jury box now witness stand
What is traditionally the jury box now will be the witness stand, giving the witness extra space from others in the courtroom when they’re speaking.
Witnesses will not wear masks when the testify, Johnson said, because it’s important to see their faces.
“The way we communicate is not just by the words chosen but by our facial expressions as well,” he explained.
Asked about face shields, Johnson said that was something they tried at a mock trial the court held recently, which was observed by health officials.
The glare on the shield from the courtroom lights obscured the witness’ face.
“It didn’t work,” Johnson said. “We can’t use these shields without interfering with a defendant’s right to fair trial.”
Another observation from the mock trial, made by a Pierce County Emergency Management official, was that the courtroom needed a safety officer of sorts. That person might hold open the door for jurors, for instance, so that all 12 of those people aren’t touching the door handle each time they enter or leave the room.
The court got CARES Act funding for six of those positions for about $232,000. Those people will walk jurors from the Armory to the courthouse, take temperatures, wipe down podiums and sanitize the witness stand between witnesses, among other duties.
Johnson said it’s not clear how long the new measures will be in place or how the plan might evolve.
“It’s very difficult for us to predict what the circumstances will be at the end of the year,” he said. “... We have to do what we can to move these cases along right now.”
