Hartford Superior Court. Photo: Google

They are back!

While it's not clear when jury trials will restart in Connecticut, bench trials in the Nutmeg State have resumed.

What is believed to be the first bench trial since the health pandemic shut down court business in March—the trade secret case of East Hartford's Dur-A-Flex against 10 defendants—resumed remotely Wednesday in front of Judge Thomas Moukawsher, who presides over complex litigation in Hartford Superior Court.

The trial, which is being conducted on the Microsoft Teams platform, is "a step in the right direction," said Jonathan Shapiro, a Middletown partner who is representing six of the defendants in the matter.

"My immediate reaction when I heard we were moving forward with the trial was 'It's a relief to be going back.' Judicial had a lot to catch up on technology-wise in the last few months, but it appears it's paying off," said Shapiro, who is with Aeton Law Partners. "It's not a sprint here."

Shapiro continued: "To the judge's credit, because of the time needed in this case, he made this a top priority."

Dur-A-Flex, Shapiro said, accused one of its former chemists of misappropriating trade secrets and giving them to a competitor. Dur-A-Flex provides floor and wall systems for various industries.

The case, Shapiro said, resumed all day on Wednesday and Thursday, and half a day on Friday. The trial is expected to continue into August, he said.

"It's a really complex case," he said. "There are more than 900 marked exhibits. Evidence in the case has been provided off and on for two years." Through Microsoft Teams, Shapiro said, both sides this week "were introducing evidence and examining witnesses."

The law firm Rogin Nassau in Hartford is representing the plaintiff, while there are several firms representing the defendants.

Shapiro said the return of the trial the past two and a half days has seen some technical glitches on the part of the Judicial Branch. But he said they were all minor.

"There was some delay, but they got quickly resolved," he said.

Shapiro said attorneys are eager to get back to work, but he said some have concerns about doing so remotely.

"I've heard from both sides," Shapiro said. "Some people, like myself, are more than willing to do this remotely. Others are apprehensive."

Ron Etemi, a trial attorney for Trantolo & Trantolo in Waterbury, said attorneys "are patiently waiting for something to happen with jury trials. It's a good sign that we are doing bench trials, but I think we need to have some plans and options in place for jury trials."

Jury trials can be held in the courtrooms or remotely, but, he said, it's past time to start looking at options.

"Remote jury trials can be an option," Etemi said. "But we need something to happen. Courtrooms are large enough, many of them, to apply social distancing. In a nutshell, bench trials are a test case to see how well the technology can hold up in a jury trial. I have faith that Judicial will come up with something."

Rhonda Hebert,  a spokeswoman for the state Judicial Branch, said in a statement that  Moukawsher's trial is one example of "evidentiary hearings being conducted by remote means. The scope and nature of remote, evidentiary hearings is expanding daily."

It's not clear when jury trials will begin in state courts. This week, the federal courts in Connecticut announced jury selection and jury trials would be pushed back from Sept. 1 to Nov. 2.

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