Mastering the Courtroom Attorney in San Francisco, California

Have you participated in trials that require social distancing?

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I was signed out in the first socially distant Civil Trial in San Francisco and

I can show you what that looked like

this is the outside of our courthouse

and this is The Honorable Harold Khan

he’s modeling a transparent mask it was

the concept of the court and Council

that the potential jurors would wear

transparent masks as opposed to

disguises in vorder so we could see

their facial expressions in their

mannerisms this is the traditional jury

box it should hold 24 people in it and

around it for purposes of jury selection

but if you look at the yellow cards you

can see it would only hold three the

result is the balance of the jurors had

to be spread out throughout the

courtroom and here is the back of the

courtroom you can see the yellow squares

placed jurors in various positions

including there in the cheap seats in

the back back left

I was also assigned out to the first

civil socially distanced trial in

Alameda it was originally scheduled to

be in Oakland but because of the small

size of the courtroom it was transferred

to Hayward here is the Hayward court and

again I can take you inside because the

jurors had to be spread out

we brought in monitors so that the

jurors could see from different

positions here again is the jury box it

should hold at least 12 and again it

holds only three and just like San

Francisco here’s the back of the

courtroom and you can see that the

jurors are socially distanced throughout

the courtroom

the biggest challenge is a lawyer in a

socially distant trial situation is to

be able to persuade people who you can’t

see in other words you can’t see all of

the jurors at the same time as you would

in a traditional setting sometimes you

break the magic rule turning your back

to a juror you don’t want to do it but

if they’re sitting behind you that’s

going to happen also you can’t watch

their expressions the way they receive

evidence so you have to find a way to

concentrate your attention on each of

the jurors but only for a limited time

in other words you can’t look at a whole

box and see them as you normally would

foreign

the only advantage to a socially

distanced trial

is that some of the jurors are not going

to pay attention

so if you’re

involved in a case where lack of

attention matters it might be better

other than that socially distance trials

are not better than normal trials

thank you if you’ve never dealt with a

socially distanced trial before you need

to go to the courtroom early and often

you need to figure out where the jurors

are going to be what they can see and

hear from their positions and then you

need to tailor your presentation so that

all of the jurors are involved that

might mean bringing in 12 monitors or a

very very big monitor or a sound

projection system whatever it takes in

order to persuade people you need to be

able to contact them they need to be

able to hear you and they need to be

able to see you and you as the lawyer

are the one responsible for that not the

municipality that sets up the courtroom

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San Francisco, CA commercial litigation attorney Edward Hugo discusses his experience in trials that require social distancing. He states that he was assigned to the first socially distanced civil trial in San Francisco and often describes the unique setup. Outside the courthouse, The Honorable Harold Khan demonstrated a transparent mask, part of the court and counsel’s concept that potential jurors would wear masks allowing their facial expressions and mannerisms to remain visible during voir dire. The traditional jury box, designed to hold 24 people, could accommodate only three under distancing protocols. As a result, the remaining jurors were spread throughout the courtroom, including in the back rows.

He was also assigned to the first socially distanced civil trial in Alameda County. Originally scheduled in Oakland, the case was moved to Hayward due to courtroom size limitations. In Hayward, monitors were installed so jurors could see proceedings from various positions. Again, the jury box could hold only a fraction of the seated jurors, with the rest socially distanced throughout the courtroom.

The greatest challenge in a socially distanced trial, he notes, is persuading jurors when you cannot see all of them simultaneously. Lawyers often have to break the traditional rule of never turning their back on a juror, simply because of their placement. Observing reactions and gauging attention is significantly limited, so he must concentrate on each juror individually, for a limited time.

The only slight advantage to such trials, he observes, is that inattentive jurors are easier to identify, which can matter in certain cases. Beyond that, socially distanced trials present more challenges than benefits.

He emphasizes that lawyers facing a socially distanced trial need to visit the courtroom early and often to understand juror positioning, sightlines, and audibility. Presentations may require multiple monitors, large screens, or sound projection systems to ensure all jurors can see and hear the proceedings. Ultimately, he asserts, the responsibility for engaging and persuading the jury rests entirely with the lawyer, not the court or municipality.

Mastering the Courtroom Attorney in San Francisco, California

Have you participated in trials that require social distancing?

Contact Edward Hugo

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