Second Judicial Circuit begins grand jury with health protocols

While criminal jury trials have resumed in several jurisdictions around Florida, Monday saw progress in another area of the justice system with the seating of a grand jury in the Second Judicial Circuit.

A grand jury was seated in Leon County on August 31. Judges and court personnel worked with the State Attorney’s Office, the Clerk of Court, Leon County government, and the Leon County Sheriff’s Office to successfully seat grand jurors for the first time in six months.

Preparations for seating a grand jury in the Second Judicial Circuit included providing personal protective equipment as well as sanitizing material.

The successful seating of a grand jury was the culmination of weeks of planning, the participation and cooperation of potential jurors, and the cooperation of justice partners. A second round of potential grand jurors summonsed to appear on Monday afternoon were not needed and called off after a sufficient number of grand jurors was selected from the morning group.

The Leon County Grand Jury went immediately to work the next day.  

Second Circuit Trial Court Administrator Grant Slayden said in an email the prospective jurors were staged in seven courtrooms throughout the Leon County Courthouse to allow for appropriate social distancing. Potential jurors were provided masks, gloves, and sanitizer, if needed. They were required to follow other rules for all visitors to the courthouse, including a temperature check and health screening questions, resulting in a small number of prospective jurors denied entry.

Preparation for seating a grand jury in the Second Judicial Circuit was extensive, including marking appropriate distancing requirements and using multiple courtrooms to stage prospective grand jurors.

The summoning yield was lower than usual, with 27 percent of the summoned jurors ultimately being available to serve.  Many prospective jurors either used the expanded grounds for excusal found in Supreme Court administrative orders, or deferred jury service to a future date.  Many of those that did appear for jury selection expressed pride in performing their civic duty.

“Data concerning the public health emergency has convinced us that it is prudent to recommence limited in-person proceedings beginning with the Grand Jury,” Slayden was quoted as saying in the Tallahassee Democrat newspaper. “We have taken precautions to protect the health of prospective jurors, to comply with directives of the Centers for Disease Control, Florida Department of Health, and the Florida Supreme Court.”

Court Administrator Slayden said a number of Clerk and Court staff performed beyond their assigned duties, including Court Supervisor Robyn Peters, Court Specialist III Christy Warrington, Acting-Chief Deputy Court Administrator Paula Watkins, Teen Court Director Jessica Goodman-Taylor, and Trial Court Marshal Bill Wills.

In Florida, grand juries do not determine innocence or guilt as a trial jury does. A grand jury, with between 15 and 21 members, is presented evidence to determine if probable cause exists a crime has been committed by the accused. Members meet intermittently for a term of 5 or 6 months, usually. Grand jury members begin criminal prosecutions. Grand juries, their deliberations, and votes are secret. State attorneys must seek a grand jury indictment to bring charges in a capital case, for offenses where the death penalty is a possible sentence. You can read more about grand juries on The Florida Bar’s website.

Improving public health conditions around the state have seen more jurisdictions move into the next phase of operations where more in-person business is conducted while continuing to hold court events remotely where possible. Criminal jury trials have been held or begun in Flagler and Bradford counties and civil trials, within a pilot program initiated by the statewide Court Continuity Workgroup, have been conducted in Miami and Jacksonville using various remote technologies. Jury trials and grand juries have been suspended since March and the beginning of the public health emergency.