Philadelphia City Hall building. Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM

While some jurisdictions are making efforts to bring back the jury trial, Philadelphia court leaders have announced it has canceled jury selection through early September.

First Judicial District President Judge Idee Fox has ordered that all criminal and civil jury trials will be suspended through Sept. 8. The order means that jury trials in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas are set to see a total suspension of nearly six months, after court leadership initially decided to suspend court proceedings beginning in mid-March.

The order, issued late May 15, also states that, unless attorneys are otherwise notified in their specific cases, all trials, hearings and conferences scheduled through July 6 have been administratively canceled and will be rescheduled. Attorneys will also not be able to file papers in person, but, the order noted, legal papers can still be filed using the electronic filing system.

Since the court closures began taking effect two months ago in an effort to help stem the spread of the highly contagious coronavirus, some attorneys have voiced frustrations, and others have said the shutdowns have increased cooperation among the parties.

Many attorneys now say they have adapted to the new normal.

"You know about the five stages of grief? Well, I'm past stage four, which is depression, and am firmly into acceptance, which is stage five," Kline & Specter attorney Shanin Specter said.

Specter said the court's decision to extend the suspension of jury trials was understandable given the situation, however, he said the legal community should begin considering new and creative approaches that could allow for trials to start up again despite the virus. For one thing, he suggested seating only a few in the jury box and the remainder in the gallery. He also suggested having jurors assemble in the courtroom, rather than in the more cramped jury assembly rooms.

"There are obvious obstacles to recovering jury trials, but we of course need to reconvene jury trials as soon as humanly possible," Specter said. "I'm sensitive to the city's concern about not spending money, but the things I'm talking about can be done without spending any additional money."

Although the FJD's order ensures jury trials won't be back in Philadelphia any time soon, other jurisdictions across the country have begun experimenting with ways to bring back jury trials. The efforts have been met with varying results.

In Ashland County, Ohio, a trial was set to begin in late April, however, during voir dire the defendant was struggling to breathe and nearly collapsed in the courtroom. Although he eventually tested negative for COVID-19, both he and his attorney, who helped physically carry him out of the courtroom, were ordered to quarantine. That trial was eventually postponed until June.

On Monday, a judge in Texas also convened a jury pool using videoconferencing technology. According to Texas Lawyer, the proceedings went smoothly, until, about 30 minutes into the proceedings, a juror wandered off screen during a break to take a phone call and couldn't hear the judges calling him back.

A court spokesman declined to immediately comment Monday afternoon.