In-person arraignments return without issue, officials say
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Queens Criminal Court has welcomed back in-person arraignments. Eagle file photo by David Brand
By Jacob Kaye
Two weeks after in-person arraignments returned to Queens and about a month after they first started to return to the city, prosecutors and attorneys say the process is running smoothly.
Queens criminal courts began in-person day arraignments on July 12 and got back to in-person night arraignments a week later.
So far, a total of 372 defendants have been arraigned in Queens, according to the Office of Court Administration. Of those arraigned, 239 have been arraigned during the day and 133 have been arraigned at night.
“There have not been any major issues or concerns,” an OCA spokesperson said. “Judges, court staff and court officers welcome the continuing return to normality.”
Manhattan courts resumed in-person arraignments on June 28, followed by Kings County, which resumed on July 6. Queens courts were the last in the city to open back up, alongside courts in the Bronx and Richmond County.
"The resumption of in-person arraignments is an important step toward full resumption of court operations, for which we are eager and ready,” said a spokesperson in the Queens District Attorney’s office. "As the city reopens from this pandemic, we look forward to in-person appearances to ensure the swift, fair and just resolution of cases."
Attorneys have reported that the resumption of in-person arraignments has been steady – the reopening hasn’t happened all at once – and the threat of COVID-19 has been relatively low.
“It wasn't crowded at all and I felt fairly safe,” said Daniel Kogan, an attorney based in Ozone Park who recently worked an arraignment in Kings County. “Before the epidemic, the courtrooms would be full of people but, at least when I was there, it was very sparsely populated.”
However, the slow pace of play hasn’t been preferred by everyone, according to New York State Court Officers Association President Dennis Quirk, who said court officers have had little to do despite the increase in arraignments.
“Arrests are way down,” Quirk said. “We don’t have much activity going on.”
However, Quirk added that despite cleanliness issues in the courthouses, “we really haven't had very many problems.”
Kogan said that the biggest benefit for returning to in-person proceedings is the benefit offered to defendants.
“From the defendants point of view, [they] see a live judge in a live courtroom instead of looking at a screen with various images,” he said. “I’m sure the defendants much prefer it.”
At the same time, virtual proceedings proved to be fairly efficient and while the return to in-person has been welcomed, Kogan said he hopes some of the pandemic practices remain.
“As I was a little leery [of virtual courtrooms] at first, but I find, for us, a practitioner is much more efficient,” Kogan said. “You don't have to travel an hour this way, an hour that way. And if you have two cases in two different places, you’re not racing between courthouses.”
In her bi-weekly address last month, Chief Judge Janet DiFiore said that virtual proceedings, while a success, “was never intended to be anything but a temporary solution.”
“The time is right to restore face-to-face interaction in these important proceedings where charged individuals have the critical opportunity to interact with their lawyers for the first time, and where the Court first exercises its jurisdiction and authority over the defendant,” DiFiore said.
Are you a member of the Queens legal community who has participated in in-person arraignments in Queens? Reach out to Jacob Kaye at jacobk@queenspublicmedia.com to share your experience.
