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COURIER L 26 IFE, OCT. 23-29, 2020
Brooklyn courts restart
in-person jury trials
BY AIDAN GRAHAM
Brooklyn courts began hosting inperson
jury trials today for the fi rst
time since they were halted in March,
according to the New York State’s Chief
Judge Janet DiFiore, who highlighted
new health and safety measures designed
to stem the spread of the virus
during trials.
“We will make responsible decisions
based on all of the latest data
and public health guidance, and no jurors,
lawyers, witnesses, or members
of our court staff will be asked to report
to our courthouses unless we are
confi dent in our ability to protect their
health and safety,” DiFiore said in a
pre-recorded video message.
Everyone who enters a courthouse
will be subjected to a temperature
check, and mask-usage will be enforced
while inside. Court administrators
have also installed upgraded
air fi ltration systems and plexiglass
shielding designed to adhere to social
distancing guidelines, according to Di-
Fiore.
“Every trial that does take place
will be conducted in a building that is
operated with the full range of safety
protocols — implemented, tested, and
refi ned to protect the hundreds of jurors,
lawyers, witnesses, and staff,”
she said.
The restart comes after all non-essential
court administration had been
suspended since the beginning of the
outbreak, leaving just time-sensitive
virtual functions like felony arraignments.
Now, judges and legal eagles
will begin chipping away at the mounting
work that accumulated over those
seven months.
“Our current plan is to restart
civil jury trials,” said DiFiore. “Although
we are carefully monitoring
the COVID metrics in different areas
of the city, and we have not yet fi nalized
decisions on the number or the locations
of these initial jury trials.”
The outbreak hit the Brooklyn
court system particularly hard, as two
judges — Noach Dear and Johnny Lee
Baynes — both died from the virus in
March.
The closure of the court system also
became a hotly-debated topic when
Mayor Bill de Blasio urged the state to
restart trials, claiming the shutdown
was responsible for an uptick in citywide
crime — a charge that Hizzoner
walked back after DiFiore slammed
him in a public rebuke of the assertion.
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