Jury trials placed on hold again

Orders from the Wyoming Supreme Court have once again put a hold on any jury trials that were scheduled to happen in the state.

“Recent dramatic increases in COVID-19 cases throughout Wyoming have caused the full or partial shutdown of courts, and made it difficult to get sufficient jurors,” says a press release from Michael K. Davis, Chief Justice of the Wyoming Supreme Court.

“The Court is therefore implementing measures to protect the health of the public and court personnel throughout Wyoming, while still permitting essential functions to proceed in a timely manner.”

The updated orders will certainly affect Crook County, says Clerk of District Court Tina Wood. A jury trial was scheduled for the first week of December, with several others in January.

“It is going to impact the court because of the backlog that it’s going to cause – again,” Wood says.

Though it’s tough to predict how the increase in cases would affect procedures in the courtroom, Wood says things have been going relatively well since it became possible to host jury trials again in August.

“When we’ve had our past trials, we sent out the COVID-19 questionnaire and those that had concerns were considered and, if the judges and attorneys felt they had a legitimate reason to be excused, then they were excused,” she says. “We didn’t really have a problem getting jurors to come in and to comply with the order that says they have to wear a mask.”

According to the orders, other court proceedings can still be held, including in-person proceedings in circumstances where the law or Constitution require it. Judges have been encouraged to make use of video and telephone conferencing where possible.

Here in Crook County, proceedings that don’t require the presence of a jury have also been made much easier by the installation of new technology throughout the courtroom, funded via CARES Act money.

“We are currently all up to date. We don’t have a top-of-the-line courtroom, but we have a very modern courtroom with monitors, TVs, speakers and a new sound system,” Wood says.

“We have been using the courtroom technology for court hearings since March.”

It’s made things easier in this time of social distancing. Among the new possibilities created by the tech, remote attendees can be seen by all on the monitors; a speaker system transmits audio throughout the room and directly to certain parts of it, such as the witness box; and evidence can be projected on the overhead screens.

Incarcerated persons have been able to attend most hearings remotely from downstairs in the detention center, rather than be moved back and forth to the courtroom. Even the county’s District Court judges have only attended Sundance’s courtroom in person four times since March.

Wood says she much prefers the regular system, in which judges are physically present, but she understands the safety concerns that make it necessary.

“Thank goodness we have the technology that we do have now, so that we are able to continue to have court hearings,” she says.

The technology likely wouldn’t make it possible to hold remote jury trials, however.

“I don’t think the state would ever go that direction, because it would be extremely hard to have 13 jurors sitting in front of a computer instead of being in the courtroom,” Wood explains.

The concept of a jury trial is that it takes place within the cocoon of the courtroom walls, free from outside influence to sway the decision of jury members. When everyone is scattered in individual locations, Wood says, it would be difficult for the judge to control this aspect.

The order pausing jury trials will be re-examined on or before January 15 to determine whether it should be extended or vacated, as circumstances require. In the meantime, Wood assures that the county’s justice system continues to function and ensure that the law is carried out.

“Court still happens, we still have hearings and the processes are being done as expediently as they can,” she says.