Corona Daily 403: Jurors, Judges, Masks and Zoom Hanging

Most USA criminal trials still use the jury system. The Northampton county court was shut for nearly two months. Finally, it decided to start trials on 15 June. More than 100 summonses were dispatched. The court would take all precautions: sanitizers, temperature screening, social distancing and masks.

A jury duty summons is normally morally binding on the recipient. But is that an essential service? Should an elderly juror or someone with a medical condition refuse to serve? What if the jury doesn’t have enough elderly people, blacks and Latinos? That will not be a representative jury, argue some lawyers. And if there is no public in the court, how can it be called a public trial?

The first problem confronted by the Northampton judge Michael Koury was during the jury selection. The Defense lawyer normally talks to the potential jurors to learn if any of them is biased. With jurors wearing a mask, he was unable to see them smile, smirk or frown – signals for an experienced attorney. He complained he couldn’t learn the prejudices, if any.

Across America, in different courts, a testifying witness is not allowed to cover his face. In the USA as well as UK, Muslim women appearing as witnesses in a niqab, as a rule, have been asked to show their face when testifying.

The big worry is the mask-wearing requirement for the defendant (accused). Defense lawyers are concerned the accused sitting with a mask may be perceived as a crook or a bandit. The lawyers find it difficult to hold confidential conversation with the defendant, when both of them have masks, and are required to maintain six feet between them. Some lawyers use text chat as a compromise.

After listening to all the concerns, Judge Michael Koury announced the postponement of all trials for a month or more. The pandemic requirement of mask-wearing was not compatible with the trial requirements that should be fair to the defendant.

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Ashland County’s judge Ronald Forsthoefel was more courageous. Whited, the defendant, was accused of child endangerment and other charges.  The defending lawyer Adam Stone said the jurors were anxious, stressed and distracted due to health and safety concerns. That would deny his client a fair trial.

Stone later filed a motion stating both he and his client were coughing, having breathing difficulties, headache and muscle pain. However, neither had any fever. The judge declined to postpone the trial.

Then Whited, the defendant, collapsed and had to be carried to the hospital. He was advised to self-isolate. Adam stone went into quarantine. The Ohio association of criminal defense lawyers criticized the decision to hold the trial. No justification for holding a non-essential jury trial in the midst of a pandemic, they said.

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The lockdown has resulted into an (additional) backlog of more than 37,000 cases in the UK. Indian courts have an extended summer break. The Bombay high court has permitted e-filing and video hearings for urgent matters, although there is no clarity on what is urgent.

In Singapore, a 37-year man was sentenced to death by hanging in a trial held over Zoom. Human rights groups have condemned the virtual verdict announcing an actual execution.

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Ravi