After more than a year, jury trials are set to return to DeKalb County

SYCAMORE - It’s been over a year since a jury trial was held in DeKalb County, but with COVID-19 vaccinations on the rise and local cases lowered, the DeKalb County Courthouse is being prepped for pandemic-era trials.

In order to mitigate viral spread risk and ensure safety measures are followed for jurors, attorneys, judges and defendants alike, courthouse staff worked in collaboration with the DeKalb County Health Department and recommendations made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to give Courtroom 100, which will now be the only room designated for trials, a pandemic facelift.

“We had been working on this a very long time, and knew we had to balance the health concerns, which are paramount, and follow the guidelines of the CDC and health department,” said DeKalb County Circuit Court Judge Robbin Stuckert Friday.

Stuckert is the presiding judge over the 23rd Judicial Court. She said in her two decades as a judge, she’s not seen anything like it, as no one could have predicted a pandemic from a viral respiratory disease impeding on a courthouse’s ability to safely hold jury trials.

“We are trying to educate the community and show them how we have diligently worked to balance the constitutional rights of the defendant and the community’s safety,” Stuckert said.

The new normal

Stuckert said the initial plan was to reopen jury trials in November, but the fall wave of coronavirus cases and hospitalizations put a stop to it. In November, DeKalb County recorded 2,373 cases of COVID-19, more in one month than all the previous months of the pandemic combined.

During jury trials at the DeKalb County Courthouse, jurors may sit for hours on end in close proximity to each other for days, hearing testimony and witnessing cross examinations. There are no windows in a courtroom.

Stuckert said during discussion and planning with public health officials, it was determined the lowered case counts and hospitalizations, along with vaccine arrival, meant trials could return.

“We feel that at this point in time with the health department, lower positivity rates and government protocols, it would be safe to bring people in as long as we followed precautions,” she said.

Courtroom 100 at the courthouse looks significantly different: The gallery has been all but removed, and no one will be allowed in the courtroom except for the jury, attorneys, judge, one witness at a time, court clerk and defendant. That means families of those involved will also watch from a livestream instead of inside the room.

Each juror will have their own partially enclosed Plexiglas booth (custom made courtesy of Upstaging Inc. in Sycamore) to sit in, and Plexiglas will also quarter off the witness stand and judge’s chair, along with each table where attorneys sit with their clients. Masks will be required, and those entering the courthouse will, as always, be subject to a temperature screening and symptom and security check.

The juror’s booths are set up six feet apart, and are placed around the entirety of the courtroom.

“We worked with Upstaging very closely,” Stuckert said. “We revised it many times, always trying to fine tune it to ensure that the public is safe.”

Livestream

That doesn’t mean the trial won’t be subject to Illinois law regarding public access, however, Stuckert said.

The DeKalb County Courthouse has set up a link which will livestream each jury trial for viewers, including victims’ or defendant’s families, to watch. It’s a stream set up directly through the courthouse and can be accessed while the trial is in motion at www.circuitclerk.org/virtual-court-tips.html#livestream.

In a video introducing the new pandemic-proofed courtroom, Circuit Court Judge Phillip Montgomery welcomes potential jurors with a tutorial.

“We understand that many of you feel that jury service especially in these times is inconvenient,” Montgomery says in the video. “But it is vital to the administration of justice.”

If a witness takes the testimonial stand who is a minor or a victim or who’s identity needs to otherwise be protected, as it would be during an in-person trial or in court documents, which often abbreviate the names of such people, the livestream will blur out the name or picture so that only a voice is heard.

Trial backlog

The first trial of the pandemic is up next week, and Stuckert will begin jury selection Tuesday.

The trial will be for a Kirkland man, Roberto Silva, arrested in 2017 on charges of predatory criminal sexual assault of two children under 13. If convicted, he could face six to 30 years in prison. If convicted on both charges, he could be sentenced to natural life in prison.

DeKalb County State’s Attorney Rick Amato said the DeKalb County Jail has about 113 inmates currently, many awaiting a jury trial.

“There is a backlog of cases that are accumulating that have not been able to be resolved, and some of them just need the ability to go to trial,” Amato said. “There’s too much at stake for the victim, as well as the accused, and that has slowed down the whole process when you take the ability to go to trials out of the equation.”

Amato said he appreciates jurors’ patience in the days ahead, and knows the system requires “a major contribution to our system and society.”

“The new setup allows [jurors] to be comfortably spaced apart so they can focus on the evidence and not be worrying about COVID,” Amato said. “We don’t want to win a case because of COVID, or lose a case because of COVID. We want to neutralize [the fear] as much as we can so that a fair and partial trial is conducted.”

Changes everlasting

While many yearn for pre-pandemic life, there will be, however, certain aspects of court life which could remain post pandemic, Stuckert said.

“One thing we have discovered through the pandemic is that there have been some positive changes made,” she said, referring to virtual hearings now held via Zoom. “For status hearings, it’s easier for private attorneys and, quite frankly, defendants. Many who come into our community don’t live here so they’re traveling long distances to come, they may not have a driver’s license or the best public transportation. So we’re finding on status cases, virtual hearings are working very well.”

The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that evidentiary hearings can also be done virtually, with the waiver of a defendant, Stuckert said.

Amato said other changes initially made for safety such as asking for defendants to be placed on an electronic home monitoring an ankle bracelet at home instead of booked into the jail in COVID-19 times will remain.

“Yes, that’s bond reform,” Amato said. “It’s here to stay.”

With jury trials days away, Stuckert heralded joint efforts to ensure safety is prioritized.

“I don’t think any of us could have ever anticipated a pandemic let alone how a pandemic would impact the court system,” Stuckert said. “But I am extremely proud of what the judiciary and all the stakeholders have done at this time to keep the court processes moving forward and still have everybody’s safety paramount. It does show through collaboration we can be innovative.”