500 Columbus residents summoned for jury duty as courts resume. How will it work?
Five hundred Columbus residents are expected to report for jury duty Monday as trials here resume for the first time since the COVID-19 crisis shut down most in-person Georgia court proceedings a year ago.
Three of the seven Superior Court judges in the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit have trial dockets set for next week in Columbus, where a backlog of cases has built up since the courts quit holding trials in March 2020.
Among them is the murder case against Nathaniel Washington-Ghant III, charged in the death of his 4-year-old son Nathaniel Washington-Ghant IV.
Police found the child dead Sept. 23, 2016, when officers were called to an apartment on North Lumpkin Road. Detectives said a medical examiner later informed them the boy’s case was a homicide, his cause of death “delayed complications to traumatic brain injury.”
The father on Jan. 26, 2017 was arrested for felony murder based on an underlying charge of first-degree child cruelty. Set for trial Monday in Judge Ron Mullins’ court, Ghant is represented by Columbus attorney Stacey Jackson.
Jackson said Thursday that he wants to see how well the court’s coronavirus safeguards work, and whether potential jurors will respond to the summons, despite fears of catching the virus.
Having a pool of jurors sufficiently diverse in age, gender and ethnicity is a crucial factor in ensuring defendants get a fair trial before a jury representative of the community, he said.
The process
The 500 residents called to jury duty Monday will report to the Columbus Ice Rink at 400 Fourth St., which has adequate space to keep them socially distanced. Face masks will be required, and provided free to those who have none.
Jury Manager Sonya Kibble said the rink is where her staff will deal with any “hardship” circumstances that would excuse people from serving, such as health or childcare issues.
To avoid crowding, those summoned to the rink will report in three staggered shifts, at 8:30 a.m., 9 a.m. and 9:30 a.m.
Those cleared for jury duty will move next door to the Columbus Civic Center, where attorneys will question them in the “voir dire” process of picking a trial jury. Those chosen for a trial will be told to report to courtrooms in the Government Center on 10th Street downtown, where the trials will be held.
The courts established this procedure last year, expecting trials to resume in January, but a post-holiday spike in coronavirus infections compelled state leaders to postpone court proceedings that would require people to congregate.
Now that the courts are getting back on track, everyone summoned for a case must respond, to avoid further delay, said District Attorney Mark Jones, the chief prosecutor for the six-county circuit based in Columbus.
“We do have COVID protocols in place,” he said. “My biggest thing would be, if you do get a subpoena, whether you’re law enforcement or not, we need you there.... You have to do your part for this community, if you’re a witness.”
Some witnesses in “high-profile” cases are being flown here to testify, he said.
“I want to see everybody there and ready to go,” he added. “We’re not playing around. We want the convictions on the crimes that matter, and we’re going to get them.”
This story was originally published March 12, 2021 at 6:00 AM.