Coronavirus response | Wheels of justice to resume grinding in Champaign County – Champaign/Urbana News-Gazette

URBANA With the health of Champaign County improving daily, the judiciary is ready to welcome jurors back.

Three big courtrooms. Three masked judges. No waiting.

After postponing jury trials in December, January and February, Champaign County Presiding Judge Randy Rosenbaum said they will begin again Monday.

Whether actual or not, there was a perception of a backlog of cases, particularly people in jail who wanted a trial, he said. Normally, one judge at a time handles felony trials. To help with the backlog, I have assigned three judges to handle felony trials for the next two weeks.

The trial moratorium was declared in mid-December to prepare for a predicted post-holiday surge in COVID-19 cases. The idea was to keep people who did not absolutely need to be in the courthouse out of it.

With the number of infections decreasing and the ranks of the vaccinated increasing, Rosenbaum rallied the troops to start the wheels of justice turning fully.

After a lot of tinkering with the details, the process should be fully operational Monday.

Rosenbaum and Judge Roger Webber normally hear all the felony jury trials. Judge Jason Bohm, who handles a civil caseload, is on backup to hear any cases that Rosenbaum and Webber cant handle.

While there is a possibility of three trials going on at once, the selection of jurors to hear those trials, assuming they materialize, will be staggered to keep the numbers manageable. Defendants frequently accept negotiated plea agreements once they know trials are set to begin. And sometimes, key witnesses cant be found and trials either have to be continued or cases dismissed.

Those summoned for jury duty may watch their orientation video virtually at home, and are encouraged to do so.

Those who dont have the ability to do that can watch it in the spacious jury assembly room on Monday.

Rosenbaum said summonses were sent to 120 people, 20 more than usual. He and his colleagues are hoping that most of those summoned will show up to insure an ample pool.

Were moving the lawyers further away from the jurors, we are spreading out the jurors farther, and are putting more Plexiglas between lawyers and jurors, Rosenbaum said of some of the courtroom modifications.

Of the 11 courtrooms in the 19-year-old courthouse, three are considerably larger than the other eight. They were designed for high-volume dockets like traffic and arraignment.

Turns out they fit the bill for being able to spread out and are now earmarked for trials only during the two weeks jurors are in the house.

To prepare those courtrooms, county maintenance workers removed the first two rows of benches on one side of the gallery behind the bar that separates the public from the court and jury.

That was done to be able to spread the 12 jurors and two alternates out so they will be at least 6 feet apart. The schematic involves putting five jurors in the jury box, one in front of the jury box, four in front of the bar, and four just behind the bar in chairs where the uncomfortable 90-degree benches normally are.

As with the jury trials done during the summer, jurors will go to two separate jury rooms during their breaks. When it comes time to deliberate, they will be put in one of the smaller courtrooms so they can spread out.

The logistics of just how many spectators may be in the courtroom is still being calculated, Rosenbaum said.

Jury trials typically dont hold the same allure for the public as a blockbuster movie premiere, but the occasional high-profile murder case can mean lots of supporters for both victims and defendants.

Trials must be open to the public so Rosenbaum said there may be a trial where courthouse staffers will have to reconfigure seats to safely accommodate all who would like to be present.

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Coronavirus response | Wheels of justice to resume grinding in Champaign County - Champaign/Urbana News-Gazette