Hundreds of Columbus residents will get jury summons soon. What to know about new process
You won’t need your skates if you’re summoned to the Columbus Ice Rink for jury duty in January, but you will need a mask.
When Muscogee County resumes jury trials next year, around 200 residents will be directed to the rink beside the Columbus Civic Center at the south end of Veterans Parkway, because the building has ample space for social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic.
Using more spacious city facilities for jury selection is among the recommendations from a committee of judges, lawyers and health professionals deciding how Columbus safely will resume trials for the first time since the COVID-19 epidemic worsened in March, when Georgia declared a judicial emergency, and authorities prohibited large gatherings.
Jury pools in Columbus used to require packing dozens of people into a room on the ground floor of the Columbus Government Center, with row upon row of chairs set side-by-side in a space that could hold around 250 people — conditions that would not be safe under current conditions.
Muscogee County Jury Manager Sonya Kibble said Tuesday that summons for January jury duty will be sent out the first week of December. Two criminal trials are set to begin when court resumes Jan. 4, and each will need a pool of around 60 jurors from which the trial juries will be picked, she said.
She’ll summon 200 residents because many will be excused from serving.
Columbus now has a court backlog worsened by the shutdown. The county just resumed grand jury sessions in October, when 261 criminal cases were indicted. District Attorney Julia Slater, who will leave office at the end of this year as her successor Mark Jones takes over, said another grand jury will convene Dec. 7.
Picking juries
After gathering at the ice rink to be checked in, jurors in January will be divided into groups to be considered for individual trials, and then they’ll go to the Civic Center for what’s called “voir dire,” when defense attorneys and prosecutors question them to decide who will serve on each trial jury.
The trials still will be held in courtrooms in the Government Center tower at 100 10th St.
Among the health and safety guidelines Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Gil McBride announced Monday were:
- Jurors will get questionnaires asking for additional contact information and whether they’re more at risk of severe illness from COVID-19. Those with internet access can complete the survey online at www.columbusga.gov/jury. Jurors who aren’t online will get other instructions for contacting the jury manager.
- Everyone must have a mask or other face covering that shields the nose and mouth. Anyone who does not will be provided one, as long as supplies last. “Any prospective juror who refuses to wear a mask will be prohibited from entering, and the prospective juror’s name will be reported to the judge,” McBride wrote.
- Jurors will report at different times to stagger the number arriving at once, to preclude long lines or people congregating unsafely. Upon arrival they will be asked for additional health information to gauge their risk of having or spreading the illness.
- Those at risk of spreading the virus will be directed to an isolation area as the judge decides whether to excuse them immediately. Besides a doctor’s diagnosis, or evidence of coronavirus symptoms such as a persistent cough or a fever over 104.9 degrees, anyone known to have been exposed to the disease may be isolated.
Those summoned will be scheduled to arrive 30 minutes apart in groups of 50, on this schedule:
- Jurors No. 1 through 50 at 8:30 a.m.
- Jurors 51 through 100 at 9 a.m.
- Jurors 101 through 150 at 9:30 a.m.
- Jurors 151 through 200 at 10 a.m.
Holding trials
Safely holding trials in the 1970s Government Center’s tight courtrooms will not be as simple as spacing jurors out in a recreation venue.
Here are the steps outlined for that:
- Jurors will be at least six feet apart in the courtroom gallery where spectators usually sit.
- Witnesses will testify from the jury box.
- Because jurors need to see a witness’ face, to judge that person’s credibility and demeanor, witnesses will wear transparent face masks. This also will aid the hearing-impaired, should they need to see the person’s lips. The court would provide the clear masks.
- The judge may direct or allow a participant 10 feet or more away from anyone else to remove a mask.
- Because the jury will occupy the gallery where spectators sat, those who want to watch the trial will be directed to another room, where they can see it on video. They will have to wear masks and sit six feet apart, unless they’re families from the same household, who may sit together.
All equipment used in the trial will be sanitized regularly, and sanitary wipes and other supplies will be readily available to everyone present, McBride said.