PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — “No one has been through this,” said Judge Leon Tucker, supervisor for Common Pleas Court Criminal Division.
Like most of us, we were thrown into a situation unmatched in our lifetime. COVID-19 quickly shut down every level of society, from massive organizations like the NBA down to the City of Philadelphia court system.
Philadelphia courts closed on March 17, 2020, when the mayor locked down the city in an attempt to curb the virus.
The Philadelphia district attorney and public defender worked with the courts to come up with a prioritized list of cases on the criminal side. For the most part, they decided cases for people who are not a threat to public safety would be heard first.
“It’s most difficult to move forward and to balance this virus and the safety and problems that arise with the Constitution,” Tucker said. “We’ve got to reduce the number of (court) cases as best we could, and it’s reduced to about 25% of what we normally would have.”
Only arraignments, emergency hearings and protection from abuse orders were heard, with some additional emergent hearings held over video.
Civil courts were also heavily affected — divorces were put on hold, custody cases were delayed. Some depositions and testimony, though, were still scheduled online.
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The weeks stretched into months as COVID-19 cases remained high through the spring of 2020. As cases tapered off in the summer and into the fall, Philly courts decided to resume jury trials in September — with many restrictions and new protocols in place.
“The citizens need to feel safe and we’re doing the best we can to give them the comfort level of safety when they come in to do their civic duty to hear trial,” said Tucker.
One homicide trial even played out live over YouTube, but it was short-lived, as a second spike in cases caused courts to delay jury trials again.
Election court remained open to the public in November as well as some other notable cases, like the preliminary hearing against four defendants connected to the shooting death of Philadelphia Police Sgt. James O’Connor. But for most of the public, courtrooms were closed or online.
Now in March 2021, juries are back. Some hearings are being held both in court and online. Meanwhile, there’s a backlog of more than 15,000 criminal cases in need of a resolution.
“Some of those people are going to be found guilty, some of those people are going to be found not guilty, but nonetheless, under the Constitution, they must have a hearing or a trial,” said Tucker.
COVID: Then and Now is a KYW Newsradio original monthlong series looking back at the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic in Philadelphia. Reporters revisit the news from exactly one year ago and examine how protocols, restrictions and science have evolved since then. Check back weekdays in March for more.