The return to work after the holiday season has marked a return to virtual trials for some Georgia court systems as COVID-19 Omicron variants persist statewide.
But not all chief justices have suspended in-person proceedings – and that is reviving security concerns.
Judge Cassandra Kirk, Chief Justice of Fulton County. daily report.
Early Friday morning, Fulton County Chief Magistrate Judge Cassandra Kirk said on Twitter that her court had spent the first week of 2022 performing an administrative rollback. Via a tweet, she invited the public to attend virtual trials and shared photos of herself and lawyers appearing in court virtually.
“Hello, 2022! We’re kicking off the year with an administrative week to #reset and prepare for the year,” Kirk tweeted. “Please visit us #virtually if possible. Zoom links are on your notification for court. Use our brochures and videos to prepare http://magistratefulton.org. #peoplescourt #masks #zoomcourt”
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— Judge Cassandra Kirk (@KeepKirk) January 7, 2022
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– Judge Rob Leonard (udJudgeLeonard) December 31, 2021
And over in Cobb County, Chief Judicial Circuit Judge Rob Leonard has put a temporary pause on in-person jury trials until Jan. 21, citing a nationwide spike in coronavirus cases.
Hon. Robert Dale Leonard II of the Superior Court of Cobb County in Marietta. (Photo: Rebecca Breyer/ALM)
Leonard said he didn’t take the decision lightly, but noted he chose the measured approach because serving as a jury “forces people from all walks of life, with all health conditions and immunization status, to appear in court.” .
“The likelihood of successfully surviving a lengthy jury trial when our community is at this record level is slim,” Leonard tweeted. “I appreciate your patience as we try to manage the challenges that COVID continues [to] throw at us.”
But the temporary ban on the jury has no effect on the Cobb County grand jury trial, according to Leonard, who tweeted, “Chief Judge Bowers has indicated that the Cobb County state court is following the lawsuit.”
In Forsyth County, on the other hand, court procedures vary depending on who is in charge.
“Sharp rise in COVID-19 cases”
Forsyth County, Georgia, Courthouse, Cumming. (Photo: Catherine Lovett/ALM)
Forsyth County State Court Chief Justice T. Russell McClelland has issued an administrative order to switch state court proceedings from in-person to virtual until at least January 14.
“There has been a sharp increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in the community of Forsyth County, and as such, the Court believes this is appropriate and necessary for the safety of those required to appear in court, as well as Forsyth County State Court officials and relatives Authorities in the crime justice system, the Forsyth County State Court hereby amends its court dates,” the Jan. 3 order said. “To the maximum extent possible and unless otherwise required by law, all hearings, pleadings and other off-jury matters will be conducted virtually through January 14, 2022.”
Under the order, criminal case coordinators would re-notify cases on the traffic jurisdiction’s calendar, but defendants with traffic allegations could still pay in person at the case officer’s office or online.
Read the order
McClelland’s state court approach was not matched at the Supreme Court level by Jeff S. Bagley, Chief Justice of the Bell-Forsyth Judicial Circuit.
Chief Justice Jeffrey Bagley, Forsyth County Superior Court.
“I’ve had a courthouse-wide mask mandate for a long time,” Bagley said. “We continue to uphold the mask mandate for all public areas of the courthouse and that is all I will be doing at this time.”
Bagley said the Superior Court’s first jury trial of the year would not begin until Jan. 31. However, since the courtrooms are “large enough to allow for social distancing,” he had no intention of adjourning proceedings or switching to virtual surgeries.
However, after a confirmed COVID-19 outbreak at the county jail, the chief of the county court changed the appearance of the inmates.
“We don’t bring inmates in person because so many inmates have contracted COVID,” Bagley said. “So we have them appear via video conference.”
From attorneys to litigants, everyone else involved in proceedings in Forsyth County Superior Court is expected to appear in person, but Bagley said he will review requests for placement.
“We can videoconference a hearing if the attorneys request it,” Bagley said. “I don’t take that for granted, but I will consider a request for a hearing by videoconference if the attorney so requests.”
Not a pro
In 2020, Bagley faced an ethics complaint alleging violations of emergency orders from the Georgia Supreme Court to control the spread of COVID-19.
David West, a medically vulnerable Marietta criminal defense attorney, filed the ethics complaint with the state Judicial Qualifications Commission after Bagley refused to violate District Attorney Penny Penn’s policy requiring defense attorneys to appear in person when reviewing evidence against their clients want.
Bagley eventually reversed his decision and maintained Penn’s policy, but insisted in his new order that the prosecutor’s personal policy was “in full compliance with the law.”
In his October 2020 order, Bagley said that his decision to reconsider his May 2020 order “should in no way be construed as quid pro quo with respect to the JQC complaint. If either party wishes to pursue a JQC complaint against the undersigned, the decisions of this court should in no way prejudice those efforts.”
