Published: 7/14/2020 10:11:53 PM
Like the others across the state, courthouses in Hampshire and Franklin counties began a “gradual reopening” on Monday, though some of the practices adopted because of the pandemic will remain intact for the time being.
The courts have started conducting more matters in person as opposed to through virtual means, according to First Assistant District Attorney Steven Gagne of the Northwestern district attorney’s office. Gagne said proceedings like arraignments of new cases, guilty pleas and evidentiary hearings such as dangerousness hearings no longer needed to be held remotely. However, he said the more routine proceedings, such as pretrial conferences, will still be held remotely.
“(Courthouses) have been slightly reopened,” Gagne said. “They’re more open now than they have been for the past few months.”
Court matters had been conducted via video conferencing for a few months after Gov. Charlie Baker declared a state of emergency to combat the spread of COVID-19.
According to spokesperson Mary Carey, the Northwestern district attorney’s office’s territory consists of the Hampshire and Franklin county superior and district courts as well as district courts in Orange and Belchertown and the Franklin/Hampshire Juvenile Court, which has locations in Greenfield, Orange, Belchertown and Hadley.
Gagne said everyone who enters one of the courthouses is required to wear a face mask and submit to a temperature check to determine if they are sick. He said visitors and court employees will also have to adhere to “some semblance of social distancing” to mitigate the spread of the virus.
Jury trials, which Gagne said are how a “good portion, though not the majority, of cases get resolved,” are still not being held. According to the state’s website, jury trials in both criminal and civil cases continue to be postponed to a date no earlier than Sept. 8. Gagne noted that jury selection would be especially tricky because it takes 50 to 100 potential jurors to select a 12-person pool.
As for staff members, Gagne said 30 to 40 percent of them are going to the courthouses and the rest are working remotely. However, he said, one or two district attorneys are reporting each day to the district courts in the two counties. He said the Northwestern district attorney’s office has adopted the philosophy of operating the court’s core functions with the bare minimum number of staff members working out of the courthouses.
Gagne said employee morale is as good as it can be during this unprecedented time. He said most staff members miss the camaraderie of the workplace.
“Everybody’s been in the same boat and we’re all rowing together,” he said.
He said he is confident in the state’s decision and ability to reopen in a phased way.
“I think the state, as a whole, is wise to take things slowly,” Gagne said. “I think Massachusetts has been among the national leaders in doing it right. Inching our way into the water, I think it’s the right way.”
For more information about visiting a courthouse, visit bit.ly/3esgZ8g.