SERVING JURY DUTY DURING COVID-19

The health and safety of jurors is of utmost importance to the Judges and staff at the Marion County Circuit Court. They recognize that they must make it safe to serve as a juror, to protect individual jurors, and to help protect against the spread of COVID-19 in our community. Jury trials are being held with precautionary measures to limit the exposure of jurors to COVID-19.

This was my experience:

Being called for jury duty during “normal” times can be stressful enough (taking time off of work, wondering if you’re going to be selected, etc.). But what about during a global pandemic?

I got to the Marion County Courthouse about 7:30. As I passed through a metal detector, it went off because of my metal knees. After being “wanded,” I was sent to the jury corral. This was the first change I noted. Anybody who has been summoned to the courthouse for jury duty knows what the jury corral is, a room that typically would hold up to 200 people pre-Covid. This day, they had 42 people in it, and in another room down the hall that had been converted to a jury corral were another 25 possible jurors. When I arrived in that room, I was told to take a seat that had been marked for jurors (social distancing).

Around 9:30 a.m., the clerk started calling out about two dozen names. Would I be one of them? Did I want to be one of them?

Courts have adopted varying protocols in enforcing social distancing during “voir dire” — the process by which judges question prospective jurors to assemble a jury. They have you stand in line 6 feet apart and knowing who is in front of you...you must remember your place in line as they have already made a seating chart in that order. 

After being sworn in, the questioning began. First, the judge asked a few general questions. Next, the defense attorney asked his questions. This process went on for a long time, probably more than an hour. One question that seems so easy but I found hard to articulate was “What does beyond a reasonable doubt mean to you?” In that moment I wished I had my phone so I could google it. The defense attorney went on to ask other questions, hypotheticals, etc. Lastly, the state asked their questions. The DA did ask me the last question of this process that took 2 hours. We were then ushered back to our room, and the other group went down to the courtroom while we watched them on CCTV.

Finally, we were told that 14 names were going to be called...I found myself counting as the names were called....Again, “Would I be one of them? Did I want to be one of them?” I had counted to 11 and then my name was called...sigh. As the names were called, we were told to line up and were led to the courtroom. 

The days of packing jurors in jury boxes across the state, and sitting shoulder-to-shoulder in a jury box are over, at least for now. Rather than sitting together in the jury box, only three jurors sat in the box while the remaining jurors were socially distanced, 3 to a bench, occupying the space usually reserved for the public. 

On the second day, during a break for technical difficulties, I left the jury room to use the restroom as the other was full and I had to go (apparently, this is a no-no). Well, when I tried to enter the way I came out, the doors were locked. Oh my, what do I do now? There was a courtroom and a hall between where I was and where I was supposed to be. I went down to the receptionist to see if she could call the clerk to let me in, but she was on the phone so I went back up and started knocking VERY LOUDLY. Somebody came out of another room and opened the door for me. Unfortunately, every other juror was back in the courtroom, everyone but me. Nothing like making an entrance, parading by the judge, the defense attorneys, the suspect, and the prosecution. Thankfully, the judge thought it was funny but from then on he counted the jurors, and we were told NOT to leave the jury area.

I learned so much during this process. I learned what “beyond a reasonable doubt" really means. I learned that there are three different levels of the burden of evidence and depend on what type of trial it is. I learned that jurors spend a lot of time in the jury room.

Again, because of COVID-19, the 14 jurors were divided between two jury rooms. You try and make conversation with total strangers, trying to find something in common to talk about, but the only thing you have in common is this case you are listening to, and you cannot discuss that until it is time for deliberation. For any of you that have done jury duty, you know what comes next. The time for deliberation to begin is when it really gets interesting. No two people see the story the same. Your opinions and your life experiences play into it. 

I am humbled to have done jury duty. After finally sitting on a jury, I realized just how important our civic duty is. That is why our country is the best county to live in. While the system may be flawed, it is the best system out there.