Queens jury trial continues, despite new courthouse COVID case and Bronx suspension

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By David Brand

Queens’ first criminal jury trial in nearly nine months will proceed despite at least one prosecutor testing positive for COVID-19 Monday after appearing in a courtroom a few days earlier.

The decision to proceed with the Queens jury trial came four days after a trial in the Bronx was suspended when three court staffers and an interpreter tested positive for COVID-19. 

A handful of staff members from the Queens DA’s office, various court employees and at least two judges have been ordered to quarantine because they may have been exposed, according to court staff. The chief of staff for Queens DA Melinda Katz sent an email, shared with the Eagle, to employees and court personnel with information about the office’s latest COVID case Tuesday.

Office of Court Administration spokesperson Lucian Chalfen said the circumstances in the Queens courthouse were different than in the Bronx, where the first jury trial since March was suspended last week. In the Bronx, the jury trial was expected to feature a large number of witnesses and the court sought to reduce the number of people in the building, Chalfen said.

In Queens, the assistant district attorney who tested positive was last in a courtroom on Nov. 4 and appeared on a case in a different section of the Queens Criminal Court building, Chalfen said. 

“We are acutely aware of the outside environment and its potential effect on in-person court appearances,” Chalfen said. 

Justice Ira Margulis is presiding at the trial of a defendant charged with second-degree burglary in the building’s ceremonial courtroom. Jury selection wrapped up today.

Several attorneys and court staffers have criticized OCA for restarting jury trials despite the spread of the coronavirus. Queens Defenders Executive Director Lori Zeno has been perhaps the most outspoken critic of OCA’s decision to resume jury trials, especially as COVID rates spike in Central Queens.

OCA has done little to ensure the safety of defendants, attorney, staff and visitors, she said. “All they keep doing is ordering people to go to court,” she said.

But Administrative Judge Joseph Zayas has challenged that opposition. He said the restart upholds defendants’ Constitutional right to a trial before a jury of their peers.  

“Nothing is more important than offering defendants — some who have been detained for extended periods — the opportunity to exercise this most important right,” Zayas said.