On July 31, 2020, the Massachusetts Jury Management Advisory Committee issued its report on the Commonwealth’s plan to reopen its court’s for jury trials which have been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The plan calls for a phased approach, with test jury trials starting almost immediately in a few courthouses, progressing to conducting as many trials as possible in all courthouses with certain precautions taken as long as the pandemic lasts.
As the Report makes clear, jury trials have not only been long regarded as “the principal bulwark of our liberties,” but also that the right to a jury trial is an express right provided for in both the Sixth and Seventh Amendments to the U. S. Constitution. “The jury [is] ‘the guardian of the public trust and the voice of the community’s values,’ is an integral part of the due process protections guaranteed by the Bill of Rights, and helps to sustain democratic values . . . There is no such thing as zero risk; our objective must be to reduce the risk to a level that is acceptable in light of the importance of the jury trial function.” No truer words on the subject could be spoken, and the Baystate (like Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire) is taking action.
But what about the Constitution State?
In Connecticut, all jury trials have been postponed indefinitely since March 12, 2020. While most states have postponed bringing in juries until later in the summer, some have begun to conduct jury trials, and the vast majority have issued plans to resume jury trials. But, not Connecticut. Connecticut is one of the few jurisdictions in the county to have yet even formulated a plan to return the right of trial by jury to its citizens. In the meantime, the back log of legal cases grows every day, and Connecticut residents continued to be denied a constitutional right. The barbershops, hair salons and tattoo parlors are back in business. It’s time to address how we are going to put the “guardians of the public trust” back to work. Can we hear a plan, please?
