A recently scheduled jury trial was a return to normalcy for Union County Common Pleas Court.
Judge Don Fraser said the case is not high profile, but should offer a good indication of how prepared the courthouse is to deal with larger groups.
Fraser said the jury selection would occur in Veterans Auditorium, “where everyone can social distance.”
The attorneys and judge will speak to perspective jurors from the stage. Once a jury is selected, the trial will be moved to the traditional court room. Jurors will be spaced out, seated in the gallery.
Fraser said individuals with underlying medical conditions or are concerned about their health are being excused.
The local health department evaluated the courtroom. Plexiglass has been installed in front of the bench, “so that the person on the bench doesn’t have to wear a mask and can look at people and they can see his face.”
Fraser said defendants and most of the lawyers are wearing facemasks.
The judge says he hasn’t mandated the wearing of masks, “but I am thinking about that.”
He said that other courts are limiting how defendants interact with their attorneys, but said it is important to our legal system that defendants do not feel inhibited or intimidated.
Fraser said hearings are open to the public, but he is “trying to limit the number of other people in the courtroom when possible.”
While things “pretty much back to full schedule” in the common pleas court, Marysville Municipal Court will continue to be closed for all but essential court actions.
Judge Mike Grigsby recently extended an order for the court to operate, “on a limited basis.”
“All pretrial conferences, jury trials, bench trials, trials in the small claims division, motion hearings, pending evictions, and the hearing of matters that so not require immediate attention are continued until further order of the court,” Grigsby wrote.
Grigsby initially limited court activity in March then extended the order in April. The new order extends the closure, “until further order of the court or July 31, 2020.”
Municipal Court Clerk Craig Resch said activity at the court has been, “very sparse.”
He said the court has primarily been dealing with criminal offenses.
“With the judge’s order, as far as court hearings, we are mostly doing arraignments,” Resch said.
Resch said court staff has been doing “bare-bones minimal” during this time.
“Everything is on hold until that date when we are back to normal,” Resch said.
A quick look at April’s activity shows that. In April 2019, the court dealt with 851 traffic citations, 89 criminal filings and 22 evictions. In April of this year, those numbers fell to 80 traffic citations, 51 criminal filings and 5 evictions filed.
Even when things get back to normal, things won’t be normal, Resch said.
When the court reopens, there will be a limit of 10 people in the courtroom. Participants will also need to wear masks, Resch said.
Additionally, officials understand there could be a backlog of cases that need dealt with.
“We are hoping to be able to schedule them out so they don’t become an issue,” Resch said.
Fraser said it is important that as things expand, he also wants to make sure those who do enter are healthy.
Fraser said he wants to make sure everyone entering the courtroom has their temperature checked, even employees.
“They can expose everybody just as easy as the public,” Fraser said.
The judge said he is looking into the possibility of a mass scanner that would take the temperature of everyone coming into the courthouse.
In March, Fraser issued “a judicial emergency” due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the time, Fraser said local rules of court may be temporarily adapted to allow court flexibility, within constitutional limits, in response to the public health emergency. Additionally, the court’s security policies may be temporarily amended or supplemented to protect public health while maintaining essential court functions.