Queens jury trials could resume March 22

/
Queens has held one criminal jury trial since March 2020. In November 2020, the Criminal Court building’s ceremonial courtroom was outfitted with plexiglass partitions and other safety measures for the trial. Eagle file photo by David Brand

Queens has held one criminal jury trial since March 2020. In November 2020, the Criminal Court building’s ceremonial courtroom was outfitted with plexiglass partitions and other safety measures for the trial. Eagle file photo by David Brand

By David Brand

The New York court system is moving to resume in-person jury trials as early as March 22 in Queens and across the state, the Office of Court Administration said Monday.

In a weekly address to the New York legal community, Chief Judge Janet DiFiore said the state’s decreasing rate of COVID-19 enabled the court system to resume in-person trials. 

Outside New York City, civil and criminal trials will resume March 22. County clerks have already sent jury summonses to residents in counties outside the five boroughs, a spokesperson for the Office of Court Administration said. 

The spokesperson, Lucian Chalfen, said there is no definitive plan for when jury trials will resume in New York City, but the goal is to restart the criminal trials on March 22. If that plan is finalized, New York City jurors will begin receiving their summonses this week, he said. 

Though grand jury proceedings have continued in Queens, the borough has seen just one criminal jury trial and two civil jury trials since March 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 shutdown. 

The jury trial restart depends on COVID positivity rates continuing to decrease, DiFiore said Monday.

“In anticipation of this positive trend continuing, we have started developing plans to resume some in person operations, including a limited number of jury trials statewide,” DiFiore said. “Of course, it goes without saying that our plans very much depend on the continued positive trajectory of the COVID metrics.”

Most court staffers are now eligible to get their vaccines, but one key group is excluded from the eligibility guidelines: judges.  

A spokesperson for the Office of Court Administration said the agency had advocated for judges to get their shots to keep them safe and to allow the legal-justice system to continue functioning. 

Queens County Bar Association President Cliff Welden said the organization, one of the largest in the state, was not informed about a plan to resume jury trials.

“The first inkling we received regarding this recent rollout was when the press release came out and it was published in the local papers,” Welden said. “At no time has the Office of Court Administration contacted us to ask for comment or opinions or the specifics of the plan prior to then.”

The QCBA’s Supreme Court Committee reached out to the office of Queens Supreme Court’s Administrative Judge Marguerite Grays to discuss how the trial resumption in Queens may play out

“There are millions of people across the Metropolitan Area who haven’t gotten a COVID shot. Our concern is how are they going to do this?” Welden said.

“For the past five months we’ve heard horror stories of people coming down sick with COVID and it has to be done safely.”

In January, Mayor Bill de Blasio proposed a solution to keep people safe when they serve jury duty. 

De Blasio called on the state to prioritize prospective jurors for vaccines in order to keep the criminal justice system running smoothly and safely. He also said prosecutors and other district attorney staff should receive vaccines, too.

“We want people to serve on juries. We want them to be safe. We need those juries to happen reliably,” de Blasio said. “Everyone who participates in a jury should have the opportunity to get vaccinated so they know that they can participate safely.”