Jury Trials during a Pandemic — Past and Present
Following the suspension of all civil and criminal trials in March due to the health risks associated with COVID-19, Washington State courthouses are beginning to open their doors again to legal proceedings. But while legal business has resumed, it is far from business as usual. Jurors in face masks. A plastic shield surrounding the judge’s bench. Chairs in the gallery arranged six feet apart. Hearings conducted over Zoom. These are the new sights and sounds of a courtroom during a pandemic.
In addition to masks, shields and seating modifications, the courtroom in Jefferson County, WA will be cleaned using a disinfecting fog machine and an air purifier that uses heat to kill viruses on contact. Court officials are also changing the jury selection process by including juror questions that would normally be asked in person, in the mailed materials that include the jury summons. Courts around Washington are taking similar measures, even moving proceedings to different locations that can better accommodate social distancing. These steps to ensure safety during jury trials are part of a series of recommendations drafted by the Resumption of Jury Trials Workgroup, initiated by State Supreme Court Chief Justice Debra Stephens.
This is not the first time state and federal court systems have been forced to make drastic accommodations to balance public health and the need to provide what the Spokane County Clerk has referred to as a “key constitutional guarantee.” In the fall of 1918, the United States was being devastated by influenza, an illness that would eventually lead to 675,000 deaths. Courtrooms of that era faced some of the same challenges as our modern facilities — mainly close quarters.
As a result, on November 4th of that year, The Spokane Daily Chronicle reported that all jury trials would be stopped. The U.S. Supreme Court postponed oral arguments for the first time since the 1798 yellow fever outbreak (something they would do again this year due to COVID-19). Washington State courthouses themselves were even temporarily repurposed to help combat the illness, including the top floor of the old King County Courthouse, which was used as an emergency hospital. Even the state Supreme Court’s Temple of Justice participated in the effort, serving as a location for mask production. Witnesses and jury members were ordered to wear masks at the U.S. District Court in Seattle and proceedings were closed to spectators.
Back to the present day, you can find a continuously updated list of court closures and emergency modifications on the Washington Courts website. The site also provides a directory for all state courts if you have additional questions about proceedings in your area.
SIDEBAR: During the 1918 pandemic, jurors in masks were not the only story out of Washington courtrooms. In Walla Walla, two attorneys were brought to trial for disobeying a state board of health order to wear “flu masks” in public. During the trial, the director of the board took the stand wearing one. He was forced to remove it after an objection by the defense, who insisted their clients had a right to face their accuser. The judge agreed. Read more about this story, including the trial’s verdict here. (LE)
