Juries out again: New York suspends jury
trials as second COVID-19 wave takes hold
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
Jury trials across New York
state were suspended once
again as the second wave of
COVID-19 takes hold, state Chief
Judge Janet DiFiore announced
on Nov. 16.
Courts resumed jury trials in
September after many months
of suspension due to capacity
restrictions and fears of the virus’
spread in confi ned settings such
as courtrooms. While the state
has brought 47 trials to verdict
since September, and another
12 in New York City over the
last month, DiFiore said the latest
outbreak of COVID-19 has
forced the state courts to again
put scheduling new jury trials
on ice.
“Effective today, and until
further notice, we are temporarily
postponing the scheduling of
new jury trials, and temporarily
postponing the summoning of
new trial jurors,” DiFiore said on
New York state Chief Judge Janet DiFiore announced on Nov. 16, 2020 that jury trials are being
suspended again due to the resurgence of COVID-19.
Nov. 16. “Jury trials and bench
trials that are now in progress
will be allowed to proceed to
completion.”
The summoning of new
prospective grand jurors has also
been suspended.
Any newly-commenced bench
trials and hearings will now move
forward through virtual hearings
PHOTO BY REUTERS
“unless authorized by our deputy
chief administrative judges,” the
chief judge noted.
“We are taking these steps
in response to the increasing
COVID positivity rate, the growing
number of communities experiencing
COVID-19 clusters,
the advice of our epidemiologist
who has reviewed our relevant
data, and the governor’s latest
directive restricting in-person
gatherings in commercial and
residential settings,” DiFiore
added.
The state court system will
continue to monitor the progress
of COVID-19 across New York
state before making any “necessary
adjustments” to the schedule.
All grand jury and petit jury
operations will resume once the
courts deem it safe to do so.
“As we’ve said all along, our
number one priority is the health
and safety of our judges, our
professional staff and the public
we serve,” DiFiore said. “We
will not put anyone’s health and
well-being at risk, and we will do
everything in our power to help
prevent the further spread and
resurgence of COVID-19.”
UFT partners with Tishman Speyer to help
fix ventilation at New York City schools
BY ALEJANDRA
O’CONNELL-DOMENECH
The city’s teacher union,
the United Federation of
Teachers, is teaming up
with real estate developer Tishman
Speyer to improve ventilation
in New York City public schools.
In the past, Tishman Speyer
has worked with the union, the
city’s Department of Education
and the School Construction Authority
to improve ventilation and
to source over 100,000 MERV-13
fi lters in public schools which can
help trap smaller particles and
even virus in the air more easily
than other fi lters, according to a
statement from UFT.
The developer has previously
worked in consultation with the
city to help fi x ventilation systems
at Martin Luther King Jr. Educational
Complex in Manhattan and
the Herbert Lehman High School
Mayor Bill de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza observed ventilation inspections
at a Bronx school on Aug. 26, 2020.
in the Bronx.
According to the release,
Speyer has found a domestic
supplier that could provide the
PHOTO BY NYC MAYOR’S OFFICE
city with over 100,000 MERV-13
fi lters in schools. Clean and fresh
air in classrooms is more important
than ever amid the ongoing
coronavirus pandemic given that
research suggesting the virus
can remain airborne longer than
previously thought.
As the city prepared to reopen
schools earlier this fall, the status
of air fi ltration systems in public
schools came under harsh scrutiny.
Out of the city’s roughly
1,600 schools, many facilities do
not have working HVAC systems
or windows that properly open
allowing for the circulation of
fresh air.
Worries over air fi lters have
popped up again as the weather
has turned colder forcing teachers
and students to make a choice
between staying warm and potentially
increasing possible spread
by closing windows or leaving
windows open and shivering
throughout class time.
14 November 19, 2020 Schneps Media