Jury trials won't look the same once the governor's stay-at-home order is lifted.Paul Gilfillan is chief judge of the 10th Judicial Circuit, which include Peoria, Tazewell, Marshall, Stark and Putnam counties. He says social distancing and face mask requirements will be in place.
"We also plan, like a lot of other circuits in the state, not to open up full bore with five trials on the first week back, but maybe limit the trials to one or two, so we can use our bigger courtrooms for that purpose, Gilfillan said.
Trials will remain open to the public, but they may be moved to a jury deliberation room to watch proceedings on a TV to limit the number of people in a courtroom.
Gilfillan said judges will weigh speedy trial issues when determining which cases to hear first.
"To be sure, we're not going to open up the floodgates on June 1st, and have everybody in the courthouse as they were in February. There will be changes made, including probably more guidance as to how we're going to deal with the speedy trial issue," he said. These are temporary changes planned after the governor's stay-at-home order ends May 30. But COVID-19 may also change some aspects of the criminal justice system forever.
Peoria County State's Attorney Jodi Hoos said the transformation is especially profound in the courthouse's two busiest areas: misdemeanor and traffic court."On any given day, there could be up to 100 people in those courtrooms. In a small, packed courtroom. Obviously, in today's society, that just can't occur. So we are adapting," she said.
Hoos says her office is now disposing of minor offenses like underage drinking without filing formal charges which require a court appearance.Hoos said whenever possible, minor offenses are now disposed of via a remote hearing or phone call. And traffic cases are migrating online entirely.
"The days of someone getting in a traffic accident and receiving a ticket and having a must appear ticket, where they then take off from work, come sit in a courtroom for an afternoon just to pay their ticket, hopefully will be gone," she said, noting this was also one of her priorities prior to taking office.
In Peoria County, traffic tickets can now be paid off in just a few minutes via computer.
Hoos said this is a reform she plans to keep in place even after the COVID-19 pandemic passes.
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