Here's what jury trials look like in Hamilton County amid the coronavirus pandemic
Amid the pandemic, jury trials in Hamilton County look different.
They take place in one of three specially redesigned courtrooms at the county courthouse – rooms previously reserved for visiting judges – that are disinfected after every session.
Facial coverings are required, except when witnesses testify. Spectators are limited. And there is a lot of plexiglass.
Large plexiglass panels separate each juror in the jury box, and a panel separates the two rows of jurors. Plexiglass also is in front of the judge’s bench, on the podium used by the attorneys, as well as where the court reporter sits and where witnesses testify.
After not having jury trials since March, they resumed Aug. 3, although there have only been a few.
As of Friday, there had been at least three jury trials in Municipal Court, which handles misdemeanor cases, and two felony trials in Common Pleas Court.
The first began Aug. 3 in Municipal Court for a 54-year-old woman charged with misdemeanor driving while intoxicated. After a four-day trial, the woman was found guilty.
During jury selection, Municipal Judge Curt Kissinger, who oversaw the case, asked prospective jurors if they wouldn’t feel comfortable serving because of the coronavirus.
“None expressed that they had a problem with it,” Kissinger said.
Because it was a misdemeanor case, there were eight jurors. Kissinger also sat two alternate jurors.
One juror, however, was dismissed from the case, but it was for reasons not at all related to COVID-19. It was for unauthorized use of a cell phone, a typical infraction.
First felony trial
Common Pleas Judge Jody Luebbers oversaw the first felony trial. It was for a man who was ultimately found guilty Aug. 20 of multiple counts of rape involving a child.
For that felony case – which had 12 jurors and two alternates – Luebbers conducted jury selection in a large room in the jury commissioner’s office, which allowed for multiple seats between each juror. A second room was also used for additional prospective jurors to watch the selection process on video.
The county health department approved it, she said.
For deliberations, jurors in that case used the second courtroom designated for Common Pleas Court trials. They sat in a big circle in that courtroom, appropriately socially distanced.
Afterwards, they were asked if they had concerns about health or safety.
“They all said they felt comfortable,” Luebbers said.
Jurors initially expressed concerns
On Aug. 12, a case overseen by Municipal Judge Heather Russell ended with an acquittal. A 34-year-old man was charged with obstructing police, a second-degree misdemeanor, after court documents say he yelled at officers handling a traffic stop, “forc(ing) them to stop their paperwork.”
Russell said jurors would report at non-busy times, to minimize the number of people they could possibly contact.
“My jurors initially expressed some concerns,” Russell said. “But after learning about all the safeguards that we had put in place, and the health department's inspection and approval, they were able to put their concerns aside and focus on the case.”
In a statement, Prosecutor Joe Deters thanked those who have served on juries, so far.
“Without this participation, our justice system would not function,” he said.
No one is expecting a rush of trials to go forward. There have been COVID-19-related lockdowns at the jail, where many defendants are awaiting trial. And according to state law, if any party in a case – a defendant, attorney, prosecutor, a victim, even the judge – has health concerns, the trial can be delayed.
"Health is still the overriding concern," Judge Charles Kubicki, the common pleas court's presiding and administrative judge, told The Enquirer earlier this month. "Any continuance based on health concerns will be addressed on a case-by-case basis."