Jury trials suspended in Whatcom County courts due to coronavirus outbreak
Several Whatcom County courts are suspending jury trials due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Whatcom County Superior and District Courts and Bellingham Municipal Court announced they are suspending all jury trials until early April and May, respectively.
The emergency administrative orders signed Wednesday. March 11, by the courts’ presiding judges are due to concerns over the risk of bringing together jurors in small spaces and large groups of people called for jury duty, the orders state.
Last week, the Washington State Supreme Court signed an order that gave county courts’ presiding judges the authority to change or suspend court rules as a way to address the public health emergency. On Friday, March 6, federal courts in Seattle and Tacoma also suspended jury trials in response to the novel coronavirus outbreak.
On Wednesday Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee banned gatherings and events of more than 250 people in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties. The World Health Organization also declared Wednesday that the global coronavirus crisis is now a pandemic.
Whatcom County had its first confirmed case of novel coronavirus Tuesday, March 10, and the county declared a public health emergency. As of Thursday, March 12, afternoon, Whatcom County had 19 pending tests for COVID-19, which is down from 21 on Wednesday.
The person who tested positive locally is a woman in her 60s who received medical care at PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center. Her condition improved, she was discharged and has been self-isolating at home. She has no known international travel history, the Whatcom County Health Department said.
Nearly 128,000 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed worldwide, with more than 4,700 deaths as of Thursday afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has more than 1,200 confirmed cases, with at least 38 deaths — most of them in Washington state.
Jury trials canceled
Whatcom County Superior Court Presiding Judge Deborra Garrett issued an emergency administrative order Wednesday afternoon suspending all jury trials in Superior Court scheduled between now and March 31 to be rescheduled to April 6 or after.
People who have criminal cases scheduled for jury trials between March 11 and March 31 are still expected to appear in court on the day of trial unless the court has entered an agreed order signed by everyone changing that date, Garrett’s order states.
For people who have civil cases scheduled for jury trial during March, the parties are expected to pick a hearing date to set new trial dates or present an agreed order for new trial dates.
Bench trials are not affected and will proceed as scheduled. Superior Court will follow all other regular schedules and procedures, the order states.
Garrett said discussions were held this week with the three other Superior Court judges and the decision to suspend jury trials was made Wednesday after the situation regarding the novel coronavirus changed rapidly over the past 48 hours. She said it was borne out of concerns regarding the risk to jurors.
“We were aware of the federal courts’ decision to do that and our initial reaction was that we have a greater trial load than the federal courts do, so it affects more cases in our court than the federal court for jury trials to be suspended,” Garrett said in an interview with The Bellingham Herald. “But as the picture changed over the last 48 hours and more cases were diagnosed in the state and Whatcom itself, we just felt it was too much of a risk to jurors to justify. … We have a responsibility to the community.”
For Whatcom District Court, jury trials scheduled between now and March 31 are also rescheduled to April 6 or later, Presiding Judge David Grant’s order states.
Similar to Superior Court, defendants who have criminal cases scheduled for trial in District Court are still expected to appear in court on the day of trial, unless an agreed order moving the date has been signed by all parties.
Bench trials also are not affected, and District Court will follow all other regular schedules and procedures, Grant’s order states.
Those called for jury duty are still expected to call in and follow instructions from there. However, anyone who meets the following criteria can call the jury coordinator and is excused or rescheduled from jury service, until further order from District Court:
▪ Has a chronic health condition such as heart disease, lung disease or diabetes.
▪ Has a weakened immune system.
▪ Is pregnant.
▪ Is age 60 or older and does not wish to report for jury duty.
▪ Is sick or has recently been in contact with someone who is sick.
Bellingham Municipal Court also ordered all jury trials to be rescheduled to a date after April 30, according to a temporary administrative order signed by Presiding Judge Debra Lev Thursday.
The order outlined several changes to court procedures, as the need arises:
▪ Documents such as promises to appear, no contact or pretrial release orders, or other documents where a signature is traditionally required from the defendant, any person designated by the court can initial a copy of any court document, pleading or other writing on the signature line and serve it on the defendant.
▪ The defendant personally or through their attorney can waive the right to a speedy trial verbally, by phone in open court or electronically, and can also pick a later start date, in lieu of the normal procedure that requires the defendant to do a written waiver for a speedy trial.
▪ Judicial officers, court clerks or other designated court personnel are authorized to continue infraction hearings if they receive a verbal, telephonic, written or electronic request from a defendant or defense or prosecution attorney who may be suffering from possible symptoms of a communicable disease, including COVID-19, or is particularly vulnerable due to age, pregnancy or other medical condition. The court can also order a continuance.
▪ Defendants or attorneys can request a continuance in any criminal case by notifying the court verbally, electronically, telephonically or in writing, if they are suffering from possible symptoms of COVID-19 or if they are particularly vulnerable. The requests will be decided by a judicial officer. The court can also order a continuance.
▪ All hearings, other than trials, can now be handled by phone, video or written communication at the discretion of a judicial officer.
▪ Any documents can be filed electronically with the court, by fax or email, as long as appropriate notice is given to the other party. The court can also send any document electronically to any party.
Other courts across the state have also announced closures or changes to daily operations due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Murder cases on hold
The outbreak and Superior Court administrative order have put at least two murder cases scheduled to head to trial in March on hold until further notice and resulted in one mistrial.
Christopher Gregory Koop, 42, was supposed to be on trial March 9 in Superior Court for first-degree murder (domestic violence) related to the death of his father. Koop allegedly beat his father to death with a hammer and then left the body in the garage for more than a week at their Ferndale home in April 2017.
On March 9, Koop’s trial was delayed by one week because a material witness for the state was in self-quarantine after being tested for the coronavirus. The witness is expected to get their results back within two to four days, and Koop’s trial was rescheduled for March 16.
But due to the Superior Court order, Koop’s trial is now delayed yet again. The most recent delay, which is the second in one week, is the latest in a series of many that have stalled Koop’s case for nearly three years. His trial has been rescheduled nearly 20 times.
Koop’s jury trial has now been scheduled for May 4, 2020.
The order also put Alexander Vanags’ murder case on hold.
Vanags, 30, of Arlington, is charged with second-degree murder for the death of his friend. Vanags allegedly murdered his friend with a serrated machete while the pair camped at a rural site near Baker Lake in mid-April 2019.
Vanags was scheduled to go to trial March 23, but that has been postponed due to the administrative order. A new trial date has yet to be set.
On Wednesday, the jury trial for the first-degree theft case against 59-year-old Donna Ann Brown of Ferndale was declared a mistrial due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Brown is accused of creating an armed robbery hoax in 2015 at KeyBank in Ferndale while she was working as a teller to cover up the theft of more than $34,000, according to court records.
During pre-trial motions heard on March 9, Brown’s defense attorney, Doug Hyldahl, raised concerns about seating a jury for what was anticipated to be a two-to-three-week long trial. On Wednesday, Hyldahl again renewed his concerns, and Whatcom County Superior Court Judge David Freeman declared the case a mistrial, Hyldahl said.
Hyldahl said he made the motion because he had concerns for some of the elder jurors who had been selected for the jury and in light of the public health emergency.
Hyldahl said Brown’s trial will be rescheduled for a later date.
