Plans to hold jury trials at remote sites to allow for social distancing could be problematic

Plans to hold jury trials away from the Calgary Courts Centre to allow for social distancing could prove a logistical nightmare, two prominent criminal lawyers said Friday.

Both defence counsel Alain Hepner and Jim Lutz said they could see multiple problems with the plan to conduct jury trials at remote locations.

Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench has announced plans to hold most jury selection processes and trials away from courthouses to accommodate the need for social distancing by participants.

A posting on the court’s website said about a dozen locations will be chosen to conduct jury trials in halls, hotels and community centres.

“It’s going to be a logistical nightmare, I think,” Hepner said Friday.

“Security’s a problem and privacy’s a problem, they’re going to have to ensure the jury deliberations are secret, the jury is free to move around when they have their breaks, they can’t be influenced by the public,” he said.

“I think they can do it but it might be costly.”

Lutz listed myriad potential issues the court will face in trying to run make-shift courtrooms.

“It’ll never work,” Lutz said, noting just bringing accused persons into a non-secured building will create daily perp walks.

“They’re going to have to find a better way deal with this,” he said.

“It’s like a step backwards, truly backwards.”

Issues like conversations between lawyers and their clients will be problematic.

“How are you ever going to talk to your client if he’s in custody, like one of my colleagues said, ‘What are you gonna do, sit in the (sheriff’s) van with them?'” he said.

Hepner echoed Lutz’s concerns about dealing with suspects in custody.

“Depending on the level of dangerous that they’re deemed to be … that’s gonna be a consideration for the sheriffs,” he said.

Location is another concern.

“We’ve got to get everybody down to wherever the venue is,” Hepner said.

“There’s parking issues, there’s going to be transportation issues. You know it took a long time to get one court building where we could all do everything.”

Justice spokeswoman Carla Jones said the measures are necessary because of COVID-19 concerns.

“The government is committed to maintaining Albertans’ confidence in the justice system including during the (coronavirus) pandemic,” she said in an email.

“The courts made the decision that holding jury selection and trials off-site in locations other than the current courthouses would allow them to resume jury trials while ensuring all those involved are safe.”

Jones said details about exact locations in Calgary are still being finalized.

Source: Calgary Herald