By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
After a suspension of jury trials due to the pandemic, the 23rd Judicial District is back on track, but COVID precautions continue.
Jury trials across the state were suspended in March. In the 23rd Judicial District, they resumed in November.
The 23rd Judicial District includes Ellis, Gove, Rooks and Trego counties.
Although jury trials were suspended, hearings continued.
The local court system was closed for about two weeks in March 2020. Hearings continued virtually using Zoom. In 2020, the district had 4,666 virtual hearings, and 1,518 virtual hearings have been completed January through March of this year, Judge Glenn Braun said.
When jury trials resumed in the fall, the court had a backlog of 35 jury trials. Two jury trials have been conducted. Defendants accepted plea agreements in 19 cases before trial, four defendants entered pleases before the trial dates were set, two cases were continued at the defendants' requests and are pending new dates, five trials are waiting to be set pending arrangements for expert witnesses and three cases are scheduled.
"We are very comfortable," Braun said. "We are caught up."
Braun said few cases go to jury trials. Once the cases are scheduled, they are often settled or the defendants enter into plea agreements. Nationally about 92 percent of criminal cases end in pleas, he said.
The right to a speedy trial is guaranteed by state law. That right was suspended in March when the pandemic began. Chief Justice Marla Luckert reinstated most time limitations and deadlines for court proceedings as of Thursday.
However, the right to a speedy jury trial for criminal defendants will continue to be suspended into 2023.
Amanda Truan, court administrator, said although the 23rd Judicial District has caught up on its backlog of jury trials, other judicial districts in the state have not.
When the Kansas Supreme Court approved courts to resume jury trials, it established a priority in which cases would be heard. Felony defendants who were incarcerated had their cases heard first with civil cases near the bottom of the priority list.
Civil jury trials in the judicial district are set to resume in fall, Truan said.
The 23rd Judicial District faces another complicating factor in scheduling criminal jury trials. Tom Drees, former Ellis County attorney and newly elected district judge, can't hear any cases that originated when he was county attorney.
Braun will hear all of those old cases. Braun has two jury trials scheduled in May and 18 jury trials scheduled in June and July.
COVID precautions remain in place at the Ellis County Courthouse. Although Ellis County and the City of Hays allowed their mask mandates to lapse, masks are still required in all general areas of the courthouse with the exception of the county attorney's office, Truan said. This includes staff who have been fully vaccinated, she said.
Six-foot distancing and cleaning is still being required.
The Supreme Court has notified district courts COVID precautions are to remain in place until further notice.
Plexiglass dividers are still being used in the main courtroom for jury trials. The court is also still using the basement of the Ellis County Administration Center for jury selection to allow for greater social distancing.
Braun said the jury trials that have been conducted during the pandemic have gone well.
The first case that was heard when jury trials resumed in the district was a complex homicide trial. Braun praised the jurors and the court staff.
"What really needs to go out is the compliment to the citizens of Ellis County," Braun said. "I can't imagine how difficult it is to receive that notice in that mail 'Congratulations, you've been selected for jury duty,' in the middle of a COVID situation.
"They showed up, they cooperated. We got no backlash or problems with jurors — nobody demanding to take their masks off."
Jurors indicated in surveys after they served they felt safe and complemented the staff, Braun said.
"It's a real credit to our citizens," he said. "I couldn't be prouder of them."
Positive developments for the courts have come out pandemic, Braun said. Zoom hearings have been a convenience for litigants and their attorneys. Some parties have appeared from out-of-state.
Attorneys have not needed to drive to Hays from other communities to appear in court, which has meant cost savings for their clients.
"It has made us more efficient, I think, and we can schedule a lot more hearings in a day by using the virtual features we have available," Braun said.
Because of the pandemic, Kansas residents can apply for marriage licenses and protection orders online.
"We're upgrading our website for the judicial district, which was always a goal, but not something that we pursued," Truan said. "Once the pandemic happened, we realized how imperative that was.
"The biggest thing for Judge Braun and I, post-pandemic, is what are we learning, what are we taking forward because we definitely don't want to take steps backward from where we have come."
Federal COVID relief funds were used to purchase iPads for the court. Jurors handle all evidence digitally through those iPads. This is allowing jury trials to move faster.
"There's a saying, 'Never waste a good crisis,' " Braun said. "I think this a good example. The courts system has adapted and been innovative. Everybody benefits."
Jury trials are being video streamed on YouTube because of limits on the number of people who can be in the courtroom during a trial. People are also watching divorce hearing, pleas and sentencings.
Fort Hays State University and Barton Community College students have been watching the trials for their classes.
The recent Ellis County homicide regularly had more than 100 viewers, and the video had more than 3,000 playbacks, Braun said.
"Victims don't necessarily have to come to court anymore, but they can watch the proceedings on their YouTube channels. We are seeing more people get access to the courts than ever before," he said.