Coronavirus has halted criminal trials in Georgia; what does that mean for jury duty?

With criminal trials in Georgia already halted now for nearly two months at the outset of the coronavirus crisis, it likely will be late summer at the earliest before cases requiring juries resume.

Asked in recent days when jury trials in criminal proceedings might begin, Bibb County Superior Court Chief Judge Howard Z. Simms said a statewide judicial-emergency order that put such cases on hold in March has been extended for now through June 12.

But that order will almost certainly be bumped to stretch into sometime in August or September, Simms said. “But there’s nothing official on that.”

He said the state is in something of a wait-and-see mode as officials monitor rates of COVID-19 infection.

Simms issued a local emergency order in March before statewide officials did so and the shutdown affected courts in the Macon Judicial Circuit, comprised of Bibb, Peach and Crawford counties.

Convening juries anytime soon, especially in a cramped courthouse like Macon’s, won’t be easy. During trial weeks, anywhere from 100 to 200 prospective jurors are summoned and then, in groups of 50, led to courtrooms where they become part of the selection process.

“And they’re shoulder to shoulder and knee to knee,” Simms said.

He added that when trials begin again “we’re gonna have to be prepared with all the (personal protective equipment) that we would need to bring that many people in the building. And we’re having a hard time getting it, frankly. But we’re trying.”

Another obstacle for courthouse officials to contend with will be prospective jurors’ fears of gathering in close quarters.

“You’re gonna have a lot of people who have a lot of trepidation about coming and sitting in a room full of other people,” Simms said.

If state judicial authorities decided that, say, sometime in September will be the trial-resumption date, what if not enough prospective jurors show up?

Should that be the case, officials could, unlikely as it may be, order sheriff’s deputies to go out and make sure jurors appear.

“If it gets to that,” Simms said, “that’s gonna be problematic.”

Late last month, Simms did a walk-through of the courthouse with public health officials to assess the space, showing them the jury box in his courtroom and the small deliberation room outside it.

Under the current CDC guidelines limiting gatherings to 10 or fewer people, a jury in a criminal trial, which is made up of 12 people and two alternates, would exceed that.

Since the shutdown, cases involving criminal defendants who chose to plead guilty have continued by video conference.

Defendants and their lawyers appear before judges in video calls where a prosecutor is also on the line.

Probation hearings, bond hearing and pretrial conferences are also being conducted that way.

As for the criminal court cases requiring juries, as well as grand juries, when those can again convene indictments will resume. Backlogs will be inevitable.

Coupled with pandemic-related budget cuts and layoffs, courts will have full slates in coming months.

“You’re gonna be dealing with a massive backlog and less resources to deal with it,” Simms said.

Joe Kovac Jr.

The Telegraph

Joe Kovac Jr. writes about local news and features for The Telegraph, with an eye for human-interest stories. Joe is a Warner Robins native and graduate of Warner Robins High. He joined the Telegraph in 1991 after graduating from the University of Georgia. As a Pulliam Fellowship recipient in 1991, Joe worked for the Indianapolis News. His stories have appeared in the Washington Post, the Seattle Times and Atlanta Magazine. He has been a Livingston Award finalist and won numerous Georgia Press Association and Georgia Associated Press awards.