Federal jury-trial moratorium extended until May 21

File Photo
File Photo

Concerns over limited supplies of covid-19 vaccines, slowdowns in vaccinations because of the recent winter weather, periodic upticks in infections and other issues have prompted Chief U.S. District Judge D. Price Marshall Jr. to extend a moratorium on federal jury trials for two more months, until May 21.

Those trials -- both criminal and civil -- which were suspended in March 2020, resumed in June but were again suspended in November as covid-19 infections began rising.

In Marshall's 11th administrative order dealing with court operations during the pandemic since last March, he also cited uncertainty about citizens' willingness to serve on juries in the current circumstances, which poses difficulties in selecting juries that represent a fair cross-section of the Eastern District of Arkansas.

"Having done its best to consider all the circumstances," Marshall wrote in the order, "the Court concludes that the prudent path forward includes these steps; extending the general suspension of jury trials for two more months; during that suspension, holding a few civil and criminal jury trials where the parties and the presiding Judge want to proceed, a jury can be seated, and risks can be minimized; and continuing the strong preference for video and telephone hearings of all kinds."

Marshall said holding a few pioneer trials in the coming months would be the best way to measure people's willingness to serve as jurors and would help keep down the number of people coming into the courthouse at any given time. The presiding judge will have to weigh several factors in deciding whether to conduct a trial during the next two months, including the ability to summon a proper jury, mitigation measures available to reduce the risk of infection, necessary travel by lawyers and witnesses, and the likely duration of the trial.

Marshall said in the order that almost all the pioneer trials would be short -- no more than two or three days -- and would involve only a few witnesses. For civil trials, he said, eight-person juries would be seated to help reduce the number of people called for jury duty and to minimize the number of people who would have to be in the courtroom.

In addition, Marshall ordered that only one grand jury convene in April "and in the months thereafter, unless the Court orders otherwise for good cause," and that the order for videoconferencing or teleconferencing for many criminal proceedings be extended for another 90 days under the authorization of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.

Rules set out in Administrative Order 11 for remote hearings and other proceedings in civil and criminal cases, as well as CARES Act authorizations, will remain in effect until at least May 21, according to Friday's order.

Even with the restrictions of the past year, the business of the court has been brisk, U.S. District Clerk Jim McCormack said Monday.

"From March 17 of 2020 through the end of December, we had approximately 850 video hearings," McCormack said. "And then, we've had approximately 45 telephonic hearings, which the CARES Act permits under the pandemic, so we've had nearly 900 hearings during that time."

Often, defendants who are in custody participate via video from jail, but sometimes a judge participates from another courtroom or even from the judge's home, and attorneys often participate from remote locations as well.

For prisoners who go directly before a judge, only a few are allowed in the courtroom at any one time, and they are spaced apart. Friends and family members who want to watch are moved to a different courtroom, if necessary, to observe and hear the proceedings in real time on 54-inch monitors.

McCormack said a large number of in-person hearings have also been conducted. Criminal defendants who do not consent to having hearings by video conference or teleconference must be provided an in-person hearing.

"I think it was two weeks ago I looked at the docket, and over a two- or three-day period we had 45 hearings on the docket and at that time only five of them were by video conference," he said. "The other 40 were in person. So the doors have been open, we've been open for business, and we've been frankly a pretty busy court. We've just been doing court business a little bit differently over the past 12 months."

McCormack said that during the pandemic, the federal courthouse has been closed only on weekends, federal holidays and Feb. 15-19, when Central Arkansas was shut down because of the record-breaking snowfall.

"Inclement weather, that's correct," he said. "I'm kind of proud we've been able to keep the doors open and the docket moving."

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