Covid-19-induced Courthouse Workarounds: Adopting Temporary Changes for the Permanent Good—virtual Voir Dire
| Jurisdiction | Georgia,United States |
| Citation | Vol. 27 No. 3 Pg. 0026 |
| Pages | 0026 |
| Publication year | 2021 |
Like many COVID-19-induced judicial workarounds, we have learned that the former methods for jury selection can and should be modernized through the utilization of technology.
BY HON. GAIL S. TUSAN AND TIERNEY SHARPE
Chief Justice Harold D. Melton of the Supreme Court of Georgia announced a Statewide Judicial Emergency[1] on March 14, 2020 ("the judicial branch of government to suspend all but essential court functions"). Judges across the state of Georgia complied as best able. While judges directed court personnel to postpone motion hearings and jury trial calendars and attorneys canceled depositions and work-related travel, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) service providers such as JAMS worked through the judicial pause and continued to help their clients resolve disputes using technology and existing virtual platforms. Other public and private institutions, including law schools, recalibrated and transitioned to virtual platforms for their clients, employees and students.[2] Bracing for what was to come, court administrators and government, in general, conservatively estimated this unprecedented judicial pause would last just a few months. In hind-sight, most everyone was unrealistically optimistic, thinking that by the summer of 2020 the legal profession would return to normal and resume the hectic pace of business as usual. In the wake of the protracted pandemic and national shut down, court officials across the nation, and in the state of Georgia, recognized the need to reopen the jurisdictional system. The pressing civil rights of both criminal and civil parties demanded that courts find a way to get the wheels of justice moving again. In light of continued public health concerns and public hesitancy, it became imperative for courts to utilize technology and administrative creativity. A great example of the marriage of necessity and invention can be found in the advent of the virtual voir dire. In this article, I will share my perspective based on the personal experience of conducting a virtual voir dire, as well providing the reader with broader authority and references for its use by other locales and jurisdictions.
Although jury trials resumed earlier in other parts of the country and a federal jury trial was held in Columbus, Georgia, in October, there was otherwise a moratorium on all state Georgia jury trials until Oct. 10, 2020.[3] On that date, Chief Justice Melton provided for jury trials to resume with proper precautions in place. Unfortunately, just before Christmas, Chief Justice Melton was again forced to suspend jury trials, as a spike in coronavirus cases had made it too dangerous for jury trials to resume in person.[4] Thus, voir dire was again suspended, and jury trials were once again placed on hold until the moratorium was finally lifted on March 9, 2021. Chief Justice Melton directed that "all courts are again urged to use technology, when practicable and lawful, to conduct remote judicial proceedings as a safer alternative to in-person proceedings. Where remote proceedings are not practicable or lawful, courts are reminded that in-person proceedings must be conducted in full compliance with public health guidance and the other requirements set forth in this order and in light of local conditions."[5]
Fortunately, early on—even before the moratorium was temporarily lifted—Atlanta Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Christopher S. Brasher and the Immediate Past Chief Judge, Robert C. McBurney, initiated what has been described by Fulton County Jury Services Director Amy von Kelsch as "metered, measured and methodical" planning for the recommencement of jury trials. Von Kelsch, a former litigator, appreciated the need to proceed cautiously, with the safety of the jurors, parties, attorneys and court staff being paramount. In May 2020, Chief Justice Melton established the Jury Trial Plan.[6]Fulton County courts were proactive in their preparedness to safely recommence jury trials when authorized by the Supreme Court of Georgia. Fulton County State Court Judge Wes Tailor led the effort to develop a workable plan for use of virtual voir dire in civil cases.
Tailor and Superior Court Judge Rachel Krause took over the planning of how to recommence jury trials in the age of COVID-19. They formed a jury task force that included the Superior Court's IT Director Adejuwon Amjoorin and von Kelsch, supported by their respective teams. It took approximately 10 months of planning and trial runs, but by April 2021, the jury task force was ready to test the new jury selection process. Finally, the jury stakeholders devised a feasible way for attorneys and their clients to examine and ultimately select jurors through an efficient, creative process utilizing Zoom. As Tailor put it, "We had an arrow to keep in our quiver."
The Process
Since May 2021, trial courts in Atlanta have employed a virtual voir dire process in which citizens are qualified, questioned and advised as to their ultimate fate as petit jurors—all through Zoom, email and text communications. Here, instead of the traditional jury summons with information about where to park, potential civil trial jurors receive a postcard with information regarding the actual jury selection process and a QR code. Von Kelsch recalls pulling an all-nighter as she researched and used Adobe Photoshop to design the postcard currently mailed to prospective jurors. Citizens seeking further information are directed to the jury services website, www.fultoncourt.org/ jurors. On the day a juror is subpoenaed to report, they scan the QR code, which connects them directly to Jury Services, which assigns them to a courtroom where the judge and staff are waiting in person. Juror anonymity is preserved, and they are assigned a juror number, which will be their "screen name." General questions are propounded by the judge to the gallery at large, and then follow-up questions from the parties' counsel are asked of each group of 12 jurors, with each group assigned to a breakout room that is accessed by the judge when it is that group's turn for individual questioning. Jurors are free to multitask at home or in their office, while muted and with their video off, until they are alerted...
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