MARQUETTE — The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way justice has been administered across the United States since March.

Even locally, the need to remain socially distant in order to reduce the spread of the virus meant an abrupt cessation of jury trials and a drastic change in how trial preparation is conducted, Marquette County Prosecutor Matt Wiese said.

“We have not been able to hold any jury trials since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Wiese said in an email. “Fortunately, our office is mostly paperless and we have been able to conduct the business of the criminal justice system, such as review cases and issue warrants to ensure the constitutional rights of those accused of a crime are being protected.”

He said while stay-at-home orders were in effect, the prosecutor’s office continued to work on-site with a reduced staff. Those who were not physically in the office mostly worked remotely from home, Wiese said.

“Working remotely did present its challenges and was not nearly as efficient as being in the office due to connectivity issues, and the requirement that our information be maintained in a secure, encrypted environment,” he said.

All meetings with crime victims have been held via telephone or other electronic means. More recently, nearly all court appearances have been held remotely via the Zoom teleconferencing platform, he said.

His office was able to obtain $39,000 in federal Coronavirus Emergency Supplemental Funding earmarked for state and local governments to help criminal justice responders, the courts and prosecutors fund a variety of expenses related to the pandemic, he said.

“This funding will be used to supplement the following: overtime expenses incurred for clerical support; the purchase of a Zoom Business License so we are able to have up to 10 Zoom meetings scheduled simultaneously; Docu-Sign licenses for the attorneys in my office, so we can securely authenticate and sign legal documents digitally; high-speed desktop scanners so that paperwork received can be scanned and entered into our case management system and forwarded to the courts and defense counsel; headsets with microphones for the attorneys when meeting with victims, witnesses and when appearing in court; enhanced internet ‘hot spot’ cellular devices for employees who do not have high-speed internet when working from home; disinfecting and sanitizing supplies; and (personal protective equipment) for witnesses and victims that need to be physically present in the courthouse,” Wiese said.

Holding a jury trial is a bit more complex, Wiese said.

He said the county’s first jury trial since the pandemic began is scheduled to commence on Oct. 19.

The trial is a domestic violence-related attempted murder case. The court will seek to impanel a 12-person jury for the trial, Wiese told the Marquette County Board of Commissioners during a recent meeting.

In order to ensure safety, jury selection should be in a large venue like a gymnasium, auditorium or in a classroom at Northern Michigan University, he said.

“If that’s not available we plan to bring them in in waves, so we would do jury selection at 25 at a time until we get a jury,” Wiese said. “It is my understanding that the court will ensure that the jury panel is socially distanced and wearing masks, and that the jury will be seated in the gallery of the courtroom rather than in the jury box. All people in the courtroom will also be socially distanced and required to wear masks.”

He said due to the limited number of people that can be physically present, the jury trial will be live-streamed on YouTube to protect the defendant’s constitutional right to a public trial.

Lisa Bowers can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 242. Her email address is lbowers@miningjournal.net.