‘Justice has to keep going’
Grand jury selection starts at NRG amid virus precautions
After a three-month hiatus on any jury service in Harris County due to the COVID-19 pandemic, grand jury selection began on Monday in NRG Arena under social distancing measures meant to help curb the novel coronavirus.
About 50 people showed up for the first day of jury service out of the 1,000 who received summons, said Al Ortiz, spokesman for the Harris County District Clerk’s Office. Another 30 prospective jurors were scheduled in the afternoon to appear via video conferencing.
Grand juries hear evidence on criminal cases and issue indictments if they determine that probable cause exists to show a crime was committed. Five panels meet twice a week for threemonth terms, each serving one district court.
The most recent panels had already been extended to serve sixmonth terms after the state entered a lockdown in March, District Clerk Marilyn Burgess said.
Operating without grand juries wasn’t really an option, she said.
“We’ve done everything we can to make it as safe as possible,” Burgess said. “It’s critically important we have grand jury panels. Justice has to keep going.”
Before entering NRG, prospective jurors have to pass a temperature check and answer a series of questions. They must wear face masks or are given one, Ortiz said. They are also provided with face shields and are seated at least 6 feet apart.
During a 1:30 p.m. jury call, in which 19 people showed up, jurors first met in a large arena space to be sworn in.
Then, they moved to a slightly smaller space for jury selection, or voir dire. They spread out across a section in their designated seats, and zip ties folded the unused seats shut.
Most of the prospective jurors were asked to return in early August, when the grand juries will officially be selected. Twelve jurors and four alternates will be on each panel.
“It’s a very different selection process,” said Judge Susan Brown, presiding over the 11th Judicial Administrative Region of Texas, a six-county region of state courts in southeast Texas.
Prior to the pandemic, the swearing-in process took place in the basement of the county administrative building downtown, and actual selection was in indi
vidual courtrooms.
State District Judge Kristen Hawkins, who presides over the 11th civil district court, said she felt Monday’s jury duty appeared to go smoothly. No one appeared outwardly anxious or nervous, she said.
“They seemed like they were here for jury duty,” she said.
The novel coronavirus has proven to be a challenge for the local courts, which are mostly functioning remotely to keep defendants and attorneys out of usually-crowded courtrooms.
A state Supreme Court order has banned most jury trials from taking place until Aug. 1, but an exception was made locally for grand jury selection for five state district courts.
The Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association has opposed the plan to resume jury selection at NRG Arena, saying that it puts defense lawyers’ lives at risk.
“No lawyer should be required to explain her private ‘health risks’ to any judge, and no sitting judge in this county, or judicial region, is equipped to accurately assess such risk,” Mark Thiessen, the group’s president, said in a June 29 letter to the administrative judge.
Defense attorneys are not usually present at grand jury selections. They do attend jury selections for criminal trials, however. Once juries are selected at NRG Arena, the actual trials will be held at the courthouse downtown.
Regular jury service has been postponed until September.
Grand jury selection will continue through Monday.