The coronavirus let residents off the hook for jury duty, but local courtrooms are bracing for an avalanche of trials once the pandemic subsides.
“We’ve got a lot on the back burner … that we’ve just rolled and rolled,” outgoing Superior Court 2 Judge Peggy Lohorn told the Montgomery County Council during last week’s budget workshops.
Courts across the state began postponing jury trials or moving hearings virtual in March as the virus began to spread.
As part of a state-mandated transition plan for resuming pre-COVID trial court operations, Montgomery County’s judges called for extending the suspension of in-person new juror orientations and postponing service for jurors at high-risk for COVID-19 until the public health emergency is lifted.
Just two criminal jury trials were held in the county through June, according to statistics tracked by the Indiana Supreme Court. No civil cases had gone to a jury over the same period.
“I’ve been told, you’re not getting a civil trial until 2021 because of speedy trial rules for criminals,” said Lohorn, who retires in December after 17 years on the bench.
In Superior Court 1, Judge Heather Barajas said she has scheduled jury trials before the end of the year “because our docket is just out of control.”
To ease the load, Barajas told the council that she pencils in criminal appearances when parental termination hearings are moved.
The court’s criminal caseload has surged in recent years mainly due to drug cases. Since Barajas first took the bench in 2015, cases have increased more than 66% to 1,382 in 2019, according to state figures.
Over the same period, criminal cases in Lohorn’s court rose about 12% to 1,770. Criminal cases heard by Judge Harry Siamas in Circuit Court went up some 16% to 500.
There were a total of 1,564 pending criminal cases in Montgomery County courtrooms at the end of the second quarter, the data show. The total number of pending civil cases stood at 1,579, with 565 total juvenile cases still in the process.
Jury trials are moving forward elsewhere in the state. Marion County began convening juries for major felony cases in August, followed by the rest of the criminal and civil docket in September. Trials are also underway in Lake and Floyd counties, all with precautions to limit the spread of COVID-19.
