JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – This week, felony judges in Duval County sent out a new notice restricting the number of defendants coming into the courthouse. The goal is to prevent the coronavirus from spreading as jury trials continue.
In November, three felony jury trials were delayed after court officials found out during jury selection that two defendants and a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office worker -- set to testify -- tested positive for COVID-19. Jurors were sent home and some attorneys quarantined as a result.
“The issue that came up was not anything that was court-related. It was from the jail or from the outside,” said Chief Judge Mark Mahon. “From our perspective, all of our safeguards were in place and they all worked.”
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On Tuesday, Mahon said the court has spent around $150,000 on plexiglass for courtrooms and court officials continue to screen people coming into the Duval County Courthouse.
Beginning Tuesday, the court will suspend previous protocols requiring out-of-custody defendants to come to the courthouse for hearings. Starting Tuesday, out-of-custody defendants will not be allowed to physically appear in the courtroom for any pre-trial hearings, including arraignments. Defendants will instead appear through Zoom and can submit a plea at the courtroom inside of Jacksonville’s pre-trial detention facility.
“We still have three trials scheduled and we still have summonses issued. But if anyone -- if the defendant, if the defense lawyer, if the state or anyone -- comes in and asks that the case be continued, the judges are liberally granting these continuances, so we’re very sensitive to that,” said Mahon.
The changes come at the same time the courts are dealing with a backlog of more 4,168 felony cases, court records show. More than 1,000 cases have been added since the start of the pandemic.
“We’ve been able to continue to accomplish a lot of things that go on in the courthouse. We’ve continued with family law cases; those are going very well through Zoom and through remote appearances. We’ve continued with domestic violence injunctions,” said Mahon. “The problem is they just are running a little bit more, more slowly. We’re struggling sometimes to get them done in this rapid fashion. And, again, that’s through the technology constraints, but we’re still up and working and doing the best we can to serve the people.”