County postpones return to jury trials
Marin County Superior Court will not resume jury trials on Monday as planned, county officials said Friday.
The court cited public health concerns a reason to postpone the plan. Specifics about the decision were not provided.
“In an effort to continue to support public health and the wellbeing and safety of our community, we will delay bringing jurors back to the courthouse, or re-opening our Clerk’s Offices to in-person visits for the time being,” James Kim, chief executive of Marin Superior Court, wrote in an email to court personnel.
“As a result, we will be calling off the jurors that were scheduled for next week,” he wrote. “Since we’re finding that the data and information on COVID-19 is rapidly changing, we will be in touch regularly in the month of March if we pivot to having in-person criminal jury trials again.”
Kim declined to elaborate. District Attorney Lori Frugoli wrote in an email, “There are more than 200 jury trials currently pending including murder trials and numerous misdemeanor trials that have been set on a “speedy trial” basis, ie: the defendant’s have asserted their right to a speedy trial.”
Tamara York, a deputy public defender, said early Friday that she had learned of the decision to cancel the launch only minutes earlier.
“I have no idea why,” York said. York is representing Juan Carlos Martinez Henriquez, a former Novato High School student who
is charged with one count of murder, one count of attempted murder and two counts of aggravated mayhem. In October, Henriquez’s trial ended with a deadlocked jury.
York said jury selection for Henriquez’s retrial was to begin on Monday. She said 200 Marin residents were issued jury summons to report to the Civic Center on Monday.
During the public comment portion of Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, Susanna Farber, an attorney representing Marin County deputy district attorneys in Teamsters Union Local 856, noted that jury trials were scheduled to resume in Marin on Monday and asked that attorneys and court staff that would be interacting with the public be made eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations.
“I believe the district attorney and public defender can get you a list of those who will be in the courtroom,” Farber said. “It is a very small number. We are hoping those folks can be prioritized.”
Farber said that Alameda, Sonoma and San Francisco have all designated district attorneys and public defender attorneys, as well as court staff, as emergency responders. She added that district attorneys have on-call provisions that require them to go out to crime scenes when necessary to assist law enforcement.
On Thursday, Dan Eilerman, an assistant county administrator, said a decision had been made to comply with Farber’s request.
“In coordination with the EOC (Emergency Operations Center) and Public Health, we worked with the courts, district attorney and public defender to submit the names late yesterday of those employees critical to on-site, essential court services operations,” Eilerman said. “These employees will receive emails advising them of their eligibility and instructions for next steps to receive the vaccine.”
Farber said on Friday attorneys were still waiting for confirmed dates to be vaccinated.
Throughout the pandemic,
California courts have been considered an essential service exempt from Gov. Newson’s stayat-home orders.
With some exceptions, jury trials for both felony and misdemeanor cases continued in Marin, albeit at a reduced pace, until Dec. 9 when Marin Superior Court Presiding Judge Andrew Sweet suspended trials due to a surge in COVID-19 cases statewide.
“We had trials in September, October and November,” York said. “It’s an essential service. If it is done in the correct way, I’m not understanding why we couldn’t go forward.”
Public Defender Jose Varela said, “There is a reason for speedy trials. As in all trial cases, the witnesses can forget things. Witnesses can be lost.”
York said her client Henriquez’s first trial took place during August, September and October. She said opening statements in the retrial were scheduled for March 26 or March 30.
York said during the first trial, “The biggest hurdle was that we were not allowed to wear clear masks so our faces and our client’s face were completely obscured from the jurors, which creates more of an impersonal experience.”
Farber said one unique challenge that Marin Superior Court faces in conducting jury trials during the pandemic is the size of its courtrooms.
“They’re pretty small, and they’re in the basement of the Civic Center,” Farber said. “They’re not set up with good air filtration either. There is not a lot of open air ventilation.”
York said the courtrooms used for trials have been altered significantly in an effort to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Audiences have been banned from the courtrooms and juror seating has been spread out through the audience seating.
“There is at least a 6-foot radius around each juror,” York said.
Three large-screen TVs and microphones have been installed to ensure that the jurors can see and hear witnesses.
York said in addition, “The counsel tables, the judge and witness stand are all separated with sheets of plexiglass. Each person is in their own special area.”