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PANDEMIC MAY CHANGE DC CRIMINAL JUSTICE A Few Important Lessons Gleaned from the Past Year by Gavrielle Jacobovitz
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hen the DC Superior Court resumed jury trials in April, such proceedings had not taken place for around a year. In that time, the city’s criminal justice system continued operating: the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) arrested or cited people; if prosecutors brought charges, defendants were either detained or, more often, released under varying levels of supervision awaiting case resolution. Some defendants accepted pleas while others awaited trials, either before a judge or jury. As the criminal court slowly begins opening up, stakeholders reflect on what the justice system could look like going forward. The system adapted throughout the pandemic to the public health emergency. Will any of these changes stretch beyond the pandemic? In the last installment of its series on DC criminal justice during the Covid-19 pandemic, Capital Community News explores three examples of the justice system adapting to Covid-19— virtual court, pretrial supervision, and
misdemeanor prosecution—and conversations about whether and if changes should last into the future.
Virtual Court DC Courts went virtual last spring. As in courtrooms across the country, for the majority of matters, DC court proceedings have been remote, facilitated through the video-conference application WebEx beginning in March. The courtroom hearing arraignments, presentments, bench warrant return and extradition hearings began as partially remote and has remained that way since, though by the end of March all other matters were entirely remote until June, according to a Court spokesperson. Since, the Court has gradually begun introducing more remote, partially remote, and in person opportunities. Now, for instance, the Court is holding both partially remote non-jury and jury trials and has begun remote nondetained misdemeanor arraignments. Preliminary hearings became partially remote during the summer, with defendants being brought in from DC Jail, according to the Superior Court’s
Criminal Division Presiding Judge Juliet McKenna. This decision was, in part, because “it is important, I think, from the defendant’s perspective to actually be able to have their day in court and at least physically appear before a judge,” especially with detention decisions, said McKenna in an interview last December. The Court opened remote hearing sites to increase access for people who do not have computers or internet access. For WebEx proceedings, the Court suggests that attendees dress like they would for Court, sit in a welllit room, and choose a non-distracting location. McKenna felt that WebEx for hearings, overall, has “been working incredibly well.” “We have not had issues with connectivity or the ability for individuals to see and hear,” said McKenna. There was a “learning curve in the beginning,” she explained. Looking forward, she suggested virtual proceedings might not be left entirely behind. The Court has tried to
“hold onto some of the things that maybe lead us to say we should have always done things this way,” McKenna said. “I think we can all recognize that sometimes coming to court for a status hearing or to have your case be dismissed because you completed your community service obligation, that involves the cost of public transportation, it may require somebody to take an entire day off from work, get childcare to wait around for their case to be called,” said McKenna. If parties requested certain proceedings to be remote, “we would certainly be open to that even once the pandemic is over.” However, McKenna noted that there are “fundamental constitutional values,” and that given “the weight of some decisions”—detention or determination of guilt, for instance—it is insufficient to offer certain proceedings “strictly via video or remotely.” Some attorneys noted to CCN that given the circumstances, the virtual WebEx hearings were working well, even expressing support for continuing virtual proceedings for certain hearings, though not for others. July 2021 ★ 43