Last week, the San Antonio Bar Association hosted a Continuing Legal Education speaker event hosted by three of Bexar County’s elected District Court Judges: The Honorable Judge Cynthia Chapa, The Honorable Judge Rosie Alvarado, and The Honorable Judge David Canales. It must also be noted that Judge Antonia Arteaga was on break from her current zoom trial and took the time to answer questions via Zoom chat!
Jury Trials have undergone a dramatic change around the country over the past year. In Bexar County, both county officials and members of the bench have been brainstorming to figure out the most efficient and effective way to ensure that their dockets continue moving while also allowing Bexar County citizens to exercise their Sixth and Seventh Amendment Rights to a Trial by Jury.
As of right now, Bexar County Civil District Courts are currently handling one trial per week. On March 22nd, however, the County will be summoning enough virtual jurors to facilitate up to two trials per week, with possibly more frequent trials after that. With over a half a dozen trials being conducted so far; the results have been extremely positive. Judge Canales remarked that despite not being in person, jurors have been very attentive and responsive. During argument by attorneys outside of the presence of the jury, as well as during scheduled breaks, the jurors are moved to a Zoom breakout room with the bailiff. The bailiffs are reportedly doing an excellent job keeping the jurors on task and making sure that there are no discussions between jurors about the case.
While this process has been working well, there are understandably some attorneys that don’t love the idea of a Zoom trial, but as Judge Canales mentioned during the CLE, it is out of their hands. Under the current emergency orders issued by the Supreme Court of Texas, for the parties involved in matters set for court, consent is not required for the Court to proceed with a virtual jury trial. If a party objects to the trial being done virtually, they must file an objection and have a hearing on it.
One of the exciting things about these virtual Jury Trials is the ability for both attorneys as well as members of the community to view them from the comfort of their own homes or offices. Judge Arteaga encouraged folks to tune in, using links provided on the Bexar County website. You are allowed to observe trials but must list your name on Zoom as “observer-your name” as well as take your photograph off of your zoom profile and change it to a black screen so that it is not a distraction to the parties, court, or jury. Please note though that whether the proceedings will be livecast on YouTube or not depends on the Court that is presiding over the trial. Some courts livecast them on YouTube; others broadcast the proceedings to their courtrooms, which the public can still access subject to COVID screening and other COVID-safe measures, like social distancing in the courtroom.
While we are still in unprecedented and ever-changing times, with the collective efforts of County and our elected officials, there is fortunately some sense of normalcy returning to our courtrooms. Ideally, we would love to jump back into normal, in-person trials as soon as possible, but that is unfortunately not on the table at this point. Fortunately, the attorneys at our office will happily handle jury trials for our clients wishing to exercise those rights. We understand the importance of handling our clients’ legal matters in an efficient way. We have all had to put so many aspects of our lives on hold due to this pandemic, and we will do everything in our power to make sure that your legal matter is not another thing that you have to put on the backburner.
