Washington County judge holds first day of plea cases since COVID-19 precautions began
A Washington County judge held plea hearings throughout the day on Wednesday in the largest session of in-person proceedings to cycle through a county courtroom in a day since March, when judges temporarily ceased most proceedings because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Roughly three dozen cases were scheduled for possible pleas before Common Pleas Judge Gary Gilman. County Court Administrator Patrick Grimm said Gilman’s “pretty lightly scheduled” cases for the day offered a kind of trial run for the courts as they prepare to resume more of their functions.
The state Supreme Court issued an order declaring the situation a “judicial emergency” on March 16. Two days later, the highest court ordered county courts closed to the public except for certain critical functions.
Late in April, the court issued an order that allowed courts to resume hearing a broader range of cases as of May 1. County courts were told to follow protective measures and to use technology to conduct proceedings “to the extent that constitutional requirements can be satisfied” through June 1.
Meanwhile, an order from county President Judge Katherine B. Emery allows common pleas judges like Gilman to hold “a limited number of nonessential matters for in-person proceedings” as long as they follow guidelines from health officials, starting on May 11.
Grimm said many civil, family and juvenile court proceedings are being handled remotely. He added that officials within the court system discussed handling the criminal cases by video. But, he said, doing so presents logistical problems unless a defendant is in a state prison or the county jail – facilities that are set up to allow inmates to appear in court by video.
“There are challenges with video when they’re not incarcerated,” he said.
One of those difficulties are ensuring that participants have access to technology. There are constitutional questions, like making sure that a defendant has the right to confront witnesses in open court.
Allegheny County courts are conducting all proceedings by teleconference or similar means.
“They’re larger and have more resources,” Grimm said of the neighboring county. “I think that’s always something to keep in mind.”
The first round of hearings was scheduled for 8:30 a.m. By about 9 a.m., a sheriff’s deputy was using a no-contact thermometer to check the temperatures of people who were entering the courthouse.
About 15 people were in the courtroom that morning. Instead of Gilman’s usual courtroom on the third floor, he used a larger one on the second floor. People who were waiting for their cases to be called spread out on benches throughout the room.
The judge, two prosecutors, a public defender, several court staff and defendants mostly kept their distances from each other. They wore masks, which are required in the courthouse.
Wednesday’s hearings – which ranged from misdemeanor drug charges to alleged cases of forgery and assault – were spaced out throughout the day, with about half a dozen cases scheduled each hour. Before the pandemic, larger numbers of defendants scheduled for pleas were typically instructed to show up at the same time.
Some scheduled plea hearings take only minutes, if they’re just a matter of receiving a continuance from the judge to allow one or both sides more time.
Grimm said the county courts were taking other steps to ensure public safety, like putting up barriers to keep people away from certain areas and requesting daytime cleaning services in the county to reduce the risk of infections, and are “looking at making adjustments” to procedures as the end of the month approaches.
District Attorney Gene Vittone observed some hearings early in the day. He said later that he’d pointed out a few things to Grimm that he recommend court officials change.
“We’ll take a look at what they do, and I’ll talk to my (assistant district attorneys) when they come down, and see what they can do differently,” Vittone added.