‘It Will Have Effects for Months and Years.’ From Jury Duty to Trials, Coronavirus is Wreaking Havoc on Courts

When Joanna Lin appeared for jury duty in New York City on March 12, she noticed the other 180 prospective jurors in the Manhattan waiting room were trying to avoid one another, choosing seats as far apart as possible. Some wore masks, and just about everyone, including the court clerk, was discussing the coronavirus. “After all these other things are canceled,” Lin, 34, recalls thinking, “there’s still jury duty.” The next day, that changed. New York and several other courts across the country had suspended jury selection and postponed new criminal and civil trials to try to stem the spread of the virus. On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court announced it was postponing upcoming oral arguments for the first time in more than 100 years; the last time it did so was in 1918 in response to the Spanish flu epidemic. Jury duty cancellations no doubt are being met with relief by many prospective jurors who feared having to sit in a room teeming with strangers for hours at a time when health officials were urging people to keep their distance from each other. “You’re in close quarters,” says Lin. “If one person gets sick, you’re screwed.” And while closing courtrooms and halting jury duty makes sense for public health reasons, some legal experts warn the delays could create an overwhelming backlog of cases and have legal ramifications, since defendants are guaranteed a speedy and fair trial under the Constitution. &ldqu...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news