Florida Supreme Court issued the following announcement on July 16.
In addition to traditional robes, 11th Circuit Judge Beatrice Butchko wore a surgical mask and plastic face shield.
The attorneys, in crisp suits, also donned PPE.
Shortly after the masked jurors filed into the courtroom, 11th Circuit Chief Judge Bertila Soto thanked them for their service, and their willingness to make history.
“This is a really important day for this country, definitely for the state of Florida,” Chief Judge Soto said. “I know this isn’t going to be easy, but this is one of the highest duties you serve as American citizens. “
Court officials spent months consulting epidemiologists and infectious disease specialists so that safety would be paramount, Soto said.
“I was moved as an American that so many of you were willing to do this,” Soto said. “I know that everyone in the state of Florida and the court system will be happy to see this going forward.”
Florida’s first remote jury trial, part of a voluntary pilot program that Chief Justice Charles Canady authorized in five circuits, is styled People’s Trust Insurance Company vs. Yusem Corchero et al.
The trial is an insurance dispute that arose from the damage Hurricane Irma inflicted on a South Florida home in September 2017.
Both sides volunteered to be part of the non-binding proceeding. Testimony began July 14.
Outside the protective bubble of the courtroom, COVID-19 was surging. Only the day before, the Florida Department of Health reported 12,624 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number to 282,435.
Court officials consulted with health experts on Friday before agreeing to allow jurors to enter the mostly empty courthouse the following Tuesday, Judge Soto said.
“We talked to them and they went through our process and they told us that they felt that we could go forward,” she said. “The epidemiologist basically said, look, you’ve done absolutely everything.”
Original source can be found here.