Courts in Baxter County are preparing to reopen following a partial shutdown that began in early March, but they will be operating differently thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Circuit Judge John Putman presided over the last session where normal person-to-person contact was allowed almost two months ago.
Since then, the halls of the court complex have been much quieter than normal.
Some “essential court functions” have continued. Those functions are defined generally as hearings that cannot by law be continued for significant periods of time.
One example is the 8.1 hearing. Under Rule 8.1 of the Arkansas Rules of Criminal Procedure, a person arrested and unable to make bond must be brought before a judge “without unnecessary delay” to have charges read, and constitutional rights explained.
The hearings have been held by judges in various courts using video hookups or other non-direct contact methods.
A few recent abbreviated sessions of circuit court, for example, have been held by way of video conferencing. All of the participants were in different locations and brought together on a single television screen.
David Ethredge is prosecuting attorney for the 14th Judicial District made up of Baxter, Marion, Boone, and Newton counties.
Photo: David Ethredge, 14th Judicial District prosecutor
Ethredge says planning has been underway for some time on changes necessary in court operations to ensure social distancing and other COVID-19 mandates are met. He says prosecutors from across the state have been meeting by video conference to discuss steps they are taking to be ready to restart the courts.
In an interview with KTLO, Classic Hits and The Boot news, Ethredge says, “This is obviously an unprecedented situation and we are feeling our way along.”
He admitted the court’s first day back in operation under the reopening plan, “may not go as smoothly as we would want, but we are working to see it goes as smoothly as possible.”
While circuit, district and juvenile courts are preparing to get back to more of the old normal, the new normal will still have to be accommodated.
The first circuit court docket call session under the revised operating plan will likely be no earlier than May 21. The Arkansas Supreme Court, which superintends lower courts in the state under provisions of Amendment 80 of the state constitution, issued an order late Friday allowing all courts in the state to begin conducting hearings May 18. The hearings can be done by way of audio or video conferencing, or in-person appearances at the discretion of the presiding judge.
According to current plans, there will be no jury trials before July. The Supreme Court has ordered that no jurors be summoned for duty until at least June 30.
The state’s highest court has suggested conducting civil jury trials with six jurors to reduce the number of people who would have to gather for a trial.
In order to allow for social distancing, Ethredge says the reopening plan calls for people with cases on the circuit court docket to wait outside the court complex located along East Sixth Street.
Ten people on the docket would be processed at a time, before being allowed to enter the courtroom.
While outside, they will be asked a series of questions to determine if they are candidates to potentially test positive for COVID-19. Their temperatures will also be taken with an infrared thermometer. Ethredge says after the first day or so, consideration might be given to staggering the times for groups of defendants to arrive for court.
People without masks will be provided one, if they can be found in sufficient quantity.
“That is one thing worrying me right now. If all of the courts are open and operating, you could have a lot of people needing masks. and masks are not exactly readily available now,” Ethredge says.
Ethredge says if people already had masks, they are encouraged to wear them to court.
Those waiting outside would then go through the metal detector at the front door and proceed to the courtroom. Ethredge says no one would be allowed to remain in the lobby, and only those on the docket would be allowed in the courtroom.
Ethredge says as cases are disposed of, defendants would leave the courtroom and be replaced by a person waiting outside.
The new system will require three bailiffs – one to work with those outside the complex, one to man the security station at the front door and one to protect the courtroom.
Ethredge says the people working to handle the new procedures would likely be a mix of deputy sheriffs and, possibly, workers transferred from their regular county jobs.
Inmates in the county jail will appear on a video hookup between the detention center and the various courtrooms, as has been the case for some time.
Jury trials would represent a much bigger problem than a “docket call” session under current social distancing requirements. “There is no practical way of handling a jury trial in the court complex under the new rules,” Ethredge says.
The prosecutor says alternatives are being researched, including church gyms or family life centers. Ethredge says, “In those facilities we could maintain social distancing and have rooms big enough so jurors could deliberate without being too close to each other.”
A Plexiglas shield is to be installed along the rail at the front of the circuit court courtroom and on each side of the podium, where defendants stand during their time before the bench.
The prosecutor’s offices in each of the counties in the judicial district have been reviewing cases to ensure none “are falling through the cracks,” Ethredge says.
Circuit judges, as well as those in district and juvenile courts, are also helping ensure plans are being laid during the current shutdown to cover all the bases related to reopening the courts.
“We will be adjusting and adapting the plan depending on what the Arkansas Supreme Court orders, and to conform to any new regulations and restrictions that might come down from the state or federal government,” Ethredge says.
A reopening plan will be in place for courts in the four counties of the 14th Judicial District. Modifications will be made so the plan fits individual circumstances in each of the counties, Ethredge says.
And, it is anybody’s guess as to how long the new operational plan will be in effect. One recent study says prolonged or intermittent social distancing could be necessary until well into 2022.
Another expert warns, “You are not talking about the next couple of weeks, but the next two years. If we are lucky a vaccine will be produced and approved for use in 18-24 months.”
“We hope it’s much sooner, but we will maintain our new operating procedures as long as necessary,” the prosecutor says.
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