Huron County court adapts to COVID

NORWALK — The Huron County Court of Common Pleas has taken the COVID-19 pandemic in stride, its judge said. Judge James Conway talked about what has changed in his courtroom since the start of the pandemic. Conway said the amount of trials and overall court hearings has remained about the same this year compared to the past. The court is conducting many hearings via video calling platform Skype. For trials and other in-person hearings, the court's taking precautions to protect everyone's health. "Everybody has to wear a mask while they're in the courtroom. We have been using (face) shields for witnesses," due to the importance of seeing facial expressions, Conway said. The court has taken similar safety measures for jurors, the judge said. "When we have jury trials, what we found to be the most effective is we seat jurors socially distanced and they remain there (in the courtroom) — they don't go to the jury room," Conway said. To avoid a cramped jury box, some jurors sit in a row of chairs in front of the jury box and others sit in a section of the court's gallery. "With (jurors) who have served with us, we've talked to them afterward and they seemed complimentary and satisfied with their safety," he said. Some prospective jurors have been excused for health concerns, but many jurors are not using the pandemic as an excuse to get out of jury duty, something Conway appreciates. "We've been very pleased with the support we've received from the community," he said.