While the state judiciary considers how to restart jury trials amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the New Jersey State Bar Association has declared that certain potential changes should be off-limits.

Virtual jury trials are unconstitutional, the bar association's Committee on the Resumption of Jury Trials said in a report made public late Monday.

The association said it would support conducting preliminary aspects of jury selection remotely, but final voir dire should continue to be conducted face to face in the courthouse. And the association also said it opposes any reduction in peremptory challenges, even if cutting such challenges would allow jury selection to proceed with a smaller pools of potential jurors.

"A live, in-person jury is the cornerstone of our civil and criminal justice system. As such, we do not believe that virtual jury trials will satisfy constitutional mandates," said the committee, which is part of the bar's Pandemic Task Force.

It's unknown if the ideas panned by the bar association are actively being considered. Although the judiciary has revealed little about when or how it might begin holding new jury trials, a court committee is studying how such trials can safely resume. Representatives from the state bar association and other groups are participating in that committee.

The state bar report expresses a wary view of expanded use of technology in jury trials, and expresses concerns that unequal access to technology in society could lead to jury pools that are less representative of the population.

"At this time of social justice protest and reform, we are particularly cognizant of the need for a plan that produces a jury pool reflective of the diversity of the community. As such, we believe that to the extent that evolving communication technology is part of this plan and future plans, sufficient safeguards must be built in to ensure that any required technology is available to all potential jurors. To do otherwise would be to create a system that discriminates based on the ability to afford the technology necessary to meaningfully participate in the jury process," the state bar report states.

Reducing peremptory challenges would permit reducing the number of jurors required in the selection process, but the report says peremptory challenges should not be reduced.

"We must not yield the very real protections against juror bias provided by the statutorily afforded peremptory challenges, especially when we explore mechanisms to implement technology and other remote screening criteria. In a time when systemic racism and implicit bias are at the forefront of American social issues, the peremptory challenge is an important right afforded to litigants which makes them feel as though they have 'a say' in the jury that is being selected," the report said.

New Jersey's judiciary has already seen resistance in trying to use technology to resume court proceedings halted by the pandemic. The court's efforts to institute virtual grand juries, with jurors participating on a computer from home, has seen widespread resistance from lawyers.

The state bar's report suggested that a video introduction to the court system, availability screening of jurors and preliminary screening of jurors could take place outside the courthouse. Final voir dire of jurors, however, should be conducted in larger courtrooms, with no more than 30 prequalified potential jurors appearing each day, the report proposes.

A judiciary spokesman, Peter McAleer, did not comment on specific points in the State Bar Association report, but noted the judiciary committee's work on the subject of resuming trials.

"The court's post-pandemic response committee, which includes representation from the Bar Association, has been hard at work discussing plans to address the myriad issues involved with the safe return to jury trials. We welcome the Bar Association's recommendations as the court finalizes its plan to recommence jury trials," McAleer said.

William Mergner Jr., the chairman of the committee that issued the bar report, did not return a call requesting comment.