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1/ In August, a Texas man was sent to stand trial while he had the coronavirus.
The man, the court and jurors didn't know of the infection until after deliberations.
The result: a monthlong delay in the car burglary case and a mistrial next door. https://www.texastribune.org/2021/01/05/texas-jury-trials-coronavirus/
The man, the court and jurors didn't know of the infection until after deliberations.
The result: a monthlong delay in the car burglary case and a mistrial next door. https://www.texastribune.org/2021/01/05/texas-jury-trials-coronavirus/
2/ The pandemic moved many Texas court proceedings online, but criminal cases with potential jail time still require in-person jury trials.
From March until June, Texas held zero jury trials, starting a backlog of cases that will take years to overcome. https://www.texastribune.org/2021/01/05/texas-jury-trials-coronavirus/
From March until June, Texas held zero jury trials, starting a backlog of cases that will take years to overcome. https://www.texastribune.org/2021/01/05/texas-jury-trials-coronavirus/
3/ This summer, some Texas counties began to experiment with resuming in-person jury trials.
25 criminal jury trials were conducted from June through September — less than one-fifth of criminal cases tried by a jury in an average week in 2019. https://www.texastribune.org/2021/01/05/texas-jury-trials-coronavirus/
25 criminal jury trials were conducted from June through September — less than one-fifth of criminal cases tried by a jury in an average week in 2019. https://www.texastribune.org/2021/01/05/texas-jury-trials-coronavirus/
4/ With pandemic-era jury trials in Texas, there have been public health risks — coronavirus infections have led to multiple delays, mistrials and a defense attorney’s death. https://www.law.com/texaslawyer/2020/12/14/a-nightmare-out-here-another-texas-lawyer-dies-of-covid-19/
5/ Jury trials in the pandemic have also raised constitutional concerns, with defense attorneys fearful of even less racially representative juries, and face masks and distancing potentially making it harder to read peoples’ expressions and tone, often crucial in trials.
6/6 But a growing backlog of court cases has pushed some counties to try to clear their dockets in other ways or move forward with in-person jury trials during the pandemic.
Our look at the complexity of moving the justice system forward in a pandemic:
https://www.texastribune.org/2021/01/05/texas-jury-trials-coronavirus/
Our look at the complexity of moving the justice system forward in a pandemic:
https://www.texastribune.org/2021/01/05/texas-jury-trials-coronavirus/
