Positive COVID test postpones first Queens jury trial of 2021
/
The Queens Criminal Court building. Eagle file photo by David Brand
By David Brand
A Queens judge adjourned the borough’s first criminal jury trial of 2021 after a defense attorney tested positive for COVID-19, court officials said Monday.
Jury selection began March 24 in the Kew Gardens courthouse for the trial of a man charged with weapons possession. It was just the second trial in Queens since March 2020, when pandemic restrictions prompted a months-long trial freeze.
Court officials said the defense attorney, from the Legal Aid Society, tested positive for COVID-19 using a rapid test and was awaiting further results on another, more reliable test. In the meantime, jurors were instructed not to come to court and the defendant remained behind bars.
Legal Aid confirmed the positive test in a statement Monday.
“The Legal Aid attorney assigned to this case recently tested positive for COVID-19,” a spokesperson said. “To protect staff, our clients and members of the court, we immediately notified all relevant parties.”
“Securing due process and justice for our clients remains a top priority, but we also must protect our staff and the New Yorkers we serve from any potential contact with the virus, which still remains a threat,” they added.
Office of Court Administration spokesperson Lucian Chalfen said that if the person does test positive again, the trial “will be rescheduled as soon as practicable.”
Queens Judge John Zoll declined to comment on the case. The Queens DA’s Office did not respond to requests for comment.
Trials resumed across the state March 22, with seven criminal and 19 civil cases scheduled to take place across New York City. Chief Judge Janet DiFiore said the declining rate of COVID-19 has allowed the court system to proceed with trials for the first time since November 2020.
“Now with the improved COVID metrics, and the continuing distribution of the vaccine, we are able to safely begin the gradual expansion of in-person operations, including jury trials, in our courts,” DiFiore said during a weekly address March 22.
But the postponement in Queens marks the second COVID-related issue since trials resumed in the Five Boroughs.
A Brooklyn judge decided to dismiss a civil case on March 25 after a 68-year-old attorney said he had trouble breathing and projecting his voice from behind his mask to jurors sitting spread apart throughout the courtroom. Justice Lawrence Knipel refused to adjourn the trial and said the lawyer lacked a formal medical reason to justify the delay.
While the trial restart is popular among some attorneys — particularly personal injury lawyers who say the threat of trial motivates defendants to come to the negotiating table — the resumption has rankled many judges and attorneys in New York City. They say the risk of COVID-19 remains too great and the vaccination rate too low to invite dozens of people back into closed courtrooms.
Queens County Bar Association President Clifford Welden said the adjournment Monday confirmed those concerns.
“This is exactly why we asked them to wait until the summer months until those vaccines get distributed,” Welden said. “Bringing jurors in when the rates are the highest in the state is not a smart thing to do. But it’s all about numbers.”
