The county’s criminal justice leaders are making plans for a safe return to the courtroom.
Late last week, Johnson County judges met and decided to target June 1 or 3 to reopen, said Peter Nugent, Superior Court 2 judge.
In the days since, judges informed the legal and law enforcement communities about their plans and looked at ways to practice social distancing while resuming in-person hearings in such close quarters, Nugent said.
Though they are looking at early June, the judges are planning to follow guidance from the Indiana Supreme Court and local health officials, Nugent said. If the local case volume spikes between now and then, or if the high court advises courts to wait, judges may move back the date, he said.
“You look at what other counties and states are doing and look at Supreme Court guidelines. It is all numbers-driven. If everything skyrockets, we will have to go back to square one,” Nugent said.
Jury trials are not expected to continue for at least a month after courts reopen. The high court has delayed all trials until July 1.
Resuming jury trials is a tough call due to the number of people who have to be in a room, Nugent said. During jury selection, 50 people crowd into a courtroom in close quarters to be questioned by attorneys in a selection process that takes several hours.
“Sometimes you have to call 100 people to get a jury pool of 50. It would be difficult, but not impossible, to do during a pandemic,” he said.
Court still in session
Since the stay-at-home order was issued, courts around the state have been conducting essential hearings, but pushed back jury trials and have not allowed the public to attend any hearings.
To keep court proceedings transparent during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Indiana Supreme Court last month authorized live-streaming for the first time in history.
However, Johnson County judges decided not to broadcast proceedings because the available technology in their courtrooms would not be adequate, Nugent said.
Given that the novel coronavirus could stick around or another pandemic could emerge, judges and the county IT department will look at expanding technology in local courtrooms, he said.
“We have seen a pandemic now instead of just reading about one, so maybe we can be more proactive in the future,” Nugent said.
During the ongoing public health emergency, only hearings for inmates at the Johnson County jail have been held locally, he said.
The hearings have been a hybrid of in-person and video approach. The judge and prosecutor’s office appointee appear in the court, while the inmate appears from the jail by video conference. The inmate’s attorney typically appears by video as well, or by phone.
Reopening safely
Judges and prosecutors are eager to get back in the courtroom, but the key is to do so safely, said Nugent and Johnson County Prosecutor Joe Villanueva.
Many of the same guidelines used in the emergency will still apply once in-person hearings resume, Nugent said.
Instead of having about 30 people a day scheduled for an 8:30 a.m. hearing, with people sitting shoulder to shoulder waiting their turn before the bench, courts will schedule eight to 10 hearings an hour apart, he said.
“The way we did business eight weeks ago is not how we are going to be doing business for a while,” Nugent said.
When possible, the courts will still rely on technology to practice social distancing, he said. Though it is not the preferred method, he said people who are unable to make it to court can still join via video conference or phone.
Other precautions will also be taken, Nugent said. Sneeze guards have been installed in county offices. With help from Johnson County Emergency Management Agency, court employees will have access to wipes, masks and hand sanitizer. Individuals coming in for hearings will be asked, but not required, to wear a mask.
Hearings will be open to the public, but seating will be restricted, Nugent said. Judges prefer that only attorneys and clients attend when possible, he said.
With time and social distancing an emphasis, Villanueva said it will be important to conduct more business outside of court. For example, instead of waiting to let judges know that discovery is still underway, more attorneys will hopefully file for a continuance beforehand to maximize the court’s time.
“It will be more incumbent on the parties to talk to each other outside of the court dates,” Villanueva said. “That time is so much more precious now. Some of those things will be taken care of via filings.”
A tidal wave of cases
Since COVID-19 appeared in Johnson County and stay-at-home orders were put in place, arrests have been down. Fewer new cases are being filed. However, with the combination of cases being pushed back and social distancing guidelines limiting court capacity, courts will likely be backed up for awhile.
Major felony cases requiring a trial have been less impacted because they would not have been resolved quickly regardless, Villanueva said.
The more impacted areas of law are misdemeanor cases and family law matters, as there were already a lot of those and they have continued to be filed during the ongoing public health emergency, Nugent said.
For Nugent’s court, which handles felony matters, only a few trials have been pushed back. Hearings that were delayed were non-critical, he said.
Still, once the court reopens, a “tidal wave of cases” will be waiting, Villanueva said.
“We can’t go back to full throttle with large dockets and people standing shoulder to shoulder,” he said. “We will have a backlog just because we have to follow CDC guidelines.”
Larger courtrooms, such as the Johnson County Circuit Court, will have an easier time practicing social distancing, while smaller courtrooms, such as Superior 2 and 3, could struggle, Villanueva said.
Technology is also likely to slow down the process initially, while attorneys and case parties get used to audio and video conferencing, he said.
“It will be a slow process, much slower than we are all used to,” Villanueva said. “And there will be a learning curve.”
