MEMPHIS, Tennessee — Monday marked a major milestone in Shelby County, as the first jury trial since the start of the pandemic got underway with jury selection. On top of that, recently relaxed guidelines means more defendants can get their day in court and and more victims and their families get their opportunity for justice.
"It's a good sign that things are getting back to normal at 201 Poplar," Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich said.
The Shelby County Justice Center is again bustling with activity. Monday, jury selection began on a second degree murder case, the first trial there since March 2020. Other trials scheduled in recent weeks ended before they began with plea deals.
"Sometimes when an offender sees that the state is ready the victim is there, the jury is out in the hallway and the judge is there, they want to dispose of that case and not have it go to trial," Weirich said.
The Shelby County DA said because of new CDC guidance, the trial schedule can again accelerate in all Shelby County courtrooms, with three feet of social distancing and masks required. Until recently, only two renovated courtrooms on the fourth floor were allowed to hold trials under the previous COVID-19 guidelines.
"It's important that the backlog be chipped away, people have been in custody for months, many times, years now," Juni Ganguli - a criminal defense attorney in Shelby County - said.
While Shelby County defense attorneys are also encouraged, Josh Spickler with the criminal justice reform group 'Just City' wished other location alternatives for trying cases emerged in the past year. Spickler pointed to the more than 2,000 inmates and staffing challenges at the Shelby County Jail.
"I applaud those that worked hard to get jury trials started again, but we have a hole in the timeline that we could have filled a long time ago by holding trials outside, by being creative about how to do that, and we didn't do that," Spickler said.
Pre-pandemic, Shelby County typically had 150 trials a year, meaning even with more trials now being able to held in more courtrooms, it will take years to clear the backlog that was accelerated during the pandemic. Prosecutors are hopeful in the coming weeks, a large group of July and August trials can be scheduled, once attorneys and judges finalize their calendars.