Coronavirus fears won’t get you out of Queens jury duty
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There were no public hand-sanitizing stations evident on any of the Civil Courthouse’s four floors when the Eagle visited Tuesday afternoon. Eagle photo by David Brand
By David Brand and Rachel Vick
Business is continuing more or less as usual across Queens’ sprawling court system, even as other institutions restrict access or limit large gatherings of people amid coronavirus uncertainty.
Judges are refusing to adjourn cases, scores of Queens residents have continued to show up in response to their jury summonses and there were no public hand-sanitizing stations evident on any of the Civil Courthouse’s four floors when the Eagle visited Tuesday afternoon.
For prospective juror Evangelos Daviotis, 28, the lunch break was a much-needed respite.
“Every time somebody is coughing in there, I get a little scared,” Davioitis said as he took a drag on his Juul. “I’m trying to stay as far away from people as possible.”
Daviotis, a Whitestone resident, said there seemed to be just one bottle of hand sanitizer in the jury waiting room — “and 250 people use that same nozzle before you.” He has been using his foot to open the bathroom door and flush the toilet, he added.
Faced with such fears, the County Clerk’s Office, which oversees jury service, has taken specific steps to limit contact between jurors and staff members, said Deputy Administrator Raymond Weaver.
Court officers walk around with a box in which prospective jurors place their summonses rather than make people pass the forms down the line. Staff who sort the paperwork now wear gloves.
“The public handle only their own summonses,” he said.
Department of Citywide Administrative Services workers clean the courthouses with extra bleach each night, and continue to wipe down surfaces throughout the day, he added.
Despite the convenient excuse, no one has used COVID-19 to skip jury duty, Weaver said. “We have not yet had people try to get out if it,” he said. “Our answer would be, ‘At some point you’ll still have to serve.’”
Just two Queens residents have been diagnosed with COVID-19 as of Tuesday at 3 p.m. There were 36 cases in New York City, and 173 statewide.
The illness affects patients’ lungs and has been highly contagious in confined spaces. The Centers for Disease and Control and the New York City Health Department have urged people to wash their hands frequently and avoid unnecessary contact. Several event organizers have cancelled concerts, conferences and other gatherings
But to Marina, an Ozone Park resident called into jury duty Tuesday, the threat of the illness was no big deal. She works in an environment with even more potential exposure — Kennedy Airport.
“It’s a matter of taking care of your own precautions, making sure people aren’t too close to you, washing your hands often,” Marina said outside the Civil Courthouse in Jamaica. She declined to give her last name.
“I don’t think it’s even in this area,” added Jamaica resident Conway Jackson, as he waited to return to jury service “Just gotta go about our business.”
A mile away in Kew Gardens, defense attorney Gary Miret attended a continuing education class about the new state discovery law. He said he does not worry much about the illness.
“We’re all adults. Use hand sanitizer. Wash your hands,” Miret said. “People freak out … Just avoid excessive contact with clients.”
Still, defense attorney Linda Bucher said she would steer clear of the court if it weren’t her job.
“I wouldn't sit for jury duty,” Bucher said. “I feel bad for the court officers, because they’re the ones who have to touch and move people.”
“You can’t be too sure. Why not adjourn?” she added.
Top Queens court officials have been meeting regularly with Acting Civil Term Administrative Judge George Silver to discuss contingency planning. So far, courts will remain open and jurors will continue to visit for grand jury service, according to Queens Criminal Court personnel.
“We have been in communication with the New York City Office of Emergency Management, the agency monitoring conditions in New York City, and are constantly reevaluating what protocols and procedures we should be following,” said Office of Court Administration spokesperson Lucian Chalfen in a statement.
Brooklyn and Islip Federal Courts have banned people who have travelled to China, South Korea, Japan, Italy or Iran within the past two weeks from entering the courthouse. Anyone who has come in contact with an infected person is also banned.
The state courts have yet to take such drastic measures.
Chalfen shared a memo that OCA sent to all 16,000 Unified Court System staff members on Feb. 28 and a letter to personnel from Chief Judge Janet DiFiore.
The memo acknowledges the case of a Westchester attorney who tested positive for coronavirus earlier this month and outlines leave policy for court personnel in the event of quarantine.
Those staff members will be entitled to leave with pay for the duration of their quarantine.
“In the face of the continued outbreak, the primary concern of the court system remains the health and safety of our workforce and the people we serve,” reads the Feb. 28 memo, written by OCA Executive Director John McConnell and Chief of Operations Nancy Barry.
