I just got off a Zoom jury selection - I didn’t get picked. It was interesting. It was a civil case, and was about as far from me in my county as possible, so doing it virtually was great.
They clearly had some special Zoom software for it, since they were able to sort people when they made their selections of potential jurors in the virtual jury box.
One thing - they made you keep your camera on to show that you were there and not either reading or falling asleep. And when they swore the jurors in, the jurors raised their hands but they were all on mute.
Anyone go through a real trial this way?
I’ve done several as a lawyer. I like it a lot. The parties and the jurors can skip the drive downtown, managing parking and security, and a lot of wasted time.
The jurors usually say afterwards t hat they could hear and see better than being in a courtroom for a “traditional” trial.
Also, for some reason, jurors seem a lot more comfortable talking during jury selection, and honestly answering our questions, which is what we want.
A PhD final exam is not a trial of course, but there are some similarities. The candidate makes a presentation and the members of the committee ask questions. Then the committee adjourns into a private session and makes its final decision. I have chaired two dozen of these on Zoom over the past two years. It is really hardly any different from a live exam. Every one not actually asking questions mutes themselves.
One thing. It is impossible to prevent someone from reading–or even doing a crossword puzzle. Don’t ask how I know.
I’m surprised by this; I’d never agree to a trial by zoom. The courts here sometimes allow domestic violence injunctions to be done by zoom, but those are presided over by a judge with no jury. Your comment about the jurors is intriguing.
Are the participants in the trial live, or also by zoom? Meaning, are the jurors watching a live trial, or is it all one big zoom call? Also, do the jurors have to keep their cameras on?
I’ve been to only a few PhD exams - my own and ones I was invited to at Stanford, but I wish I had a crossword puzzle for some of them.
On the other hand, no one can cite you for contempt if you get caught at it, unlike at a Zoom trial. Were the participants forced to keep their cameras on?
I don’t know in general, but in mine the attorney, the plaintiff and the attendant were all on Zoom, and I had the definite idea that the few witnesses would be on Zoom also.
Jurors have to keep their cameras on. And they are watched (sometimes someone will drop off due to tech issues).
Different courts do it differently, sometimes the lawyers and/or judge are in the courtroom. The first one I did (early COVID) was completely “remote,” with even the judge in his home. More common now is the judge and staff are in the courtroom, and all lawyers and witnesses are appearing via zoom.
Nobody really wanted to do a trial by zoom, but it was a vast improvement over the masked and distanced trials they were doing as an alternative (jurors spread out in the back of the courtroom, everyone wearing masks). I now am a big fan. We saved 10s of thousands of dollars not having to move into hotels and not having to fly in experts from out of state. Things move faster (side bar conferences start and end with a click) and for some reason, plaintiffs have been getting very nice verdicts. (could be unrelated to zoom). The logistics of packing up 1000s of documents and hauling them into court is something I don’t miss.
I assume as things return to normal we will return to the courtroom. People are discussing what changes might continue. Voir Dire, for example, might remain on zoom, so we don’t have to bring in 45 potential jurors. We can narrow it down to the 14 we need and just have them come downtown. Also, I really hope judges remain receptive to calling witnesses over video. Much cheaper and easier to schedule. I can tell a doctor I need him for 2 hours on Tuesday afternoon, and he can stay in his office. Otherwise, he’ll need to travel to the court house and waste a whole day.
Any clue for what they would do for someone with a desktop, which doesn’t have a camera unless you bought one separately?
Plus, what if you don’t have a computer at all? Isn’t that skewing your jury pool by factors related to technology and income level?
In Seattle you had an option to come to the courthouse and use a laptop provided. Also tablets work. One juror (against the Judge’s order) used his iPhone.
Hmm. I’ve taken part in quite a few Zoom court hearings - pleas, pretrials, sentencings and the like - but never a Zoom trial. I have to admit I’d be very reluctant to be involved in one. There’s a real but intangible benefit, I think, to having people gathered in one place and being able to read body language.
Over the past two years, the choice wasn’t zoom trial vs. normal trial, it was zoom trial vs. delay or masked trial.
I’d rather see a juror’s face on my screen than have them far away and wearing a mask.
I will say, after a day or two of doing a remote trial, everything felt completely normal.
They were supposed to. But my camera got only my head and the top of my torso. No one could see the clipboard on my lap.
A good number of the jurors used their phones. The summons said that if you did not have the capability to use Zoom, you needed to come to the courthouse.
There was one very obnoxious guy who complained in chat that he didn’t have a phone or a camera and it was unfair and he should still have his service credited. (I assume he didn’t bother to read the instructions.) The clerk finally ignored him. I guess that’s one way of making sure you don’t get picked.
Why do you think the judge banned phones? Plenty of people used them in the jury pool, and plenty of people use them in Zoom meetings I run.
If it were important, I think they could see your eyes looking down. I did do some puzzles out of camera range in dead times.
He thought the screen was too small to get a good view of exhibits, etc. The juror said he had no problem. In the Judge’s defense, it was the first zoom trial in our jurisdiction, and he was being careful, trying to make sure it wasn’t a failure.
One can use zoom (or Teams) either w/o a camera or w/o turning it on. I can see you, I can see the shared document/screen, we can both talk; the only limit is you can’t see me if I don’t have a camera/have it turned off.
Not when I am wearing glasses. I am careful not to move my head, only the eyes.
He was on Zoom when making this complaint, so yeah. But I’m pretty sure the requirements said that you needed a camera for Zoom jury duty, and I suppose he never read them.