COVID-19 having an impact on criminal justice
Jessica Yeary
Schools are closed and students are home. Businesses are closed and employees are home. But with most courtrooms closed, those that stand accused and presumed to be innocent are sitting in jail.
While we all rally to support our local businesses, provide food and nutrition for school children and care for our own health and wellbeing, we cannot forget about those in our community who are experiencing some of their worst days navigating the criminal justice system.
COVID-19 has brought the wheels of justice to a screeching halt. Citizens awaiting their day in court now see their cases continued with no clear idea of when that day will actually come. Courthouses can only do so much and they have been further limited by this state of emergency. Our judges are diligently working to hold dockets for critical and essential proceedings like first appearances, bond modifications and negotiated pleas, but scheduled jury trials and hearings on substantive motions have been cancelled.
Similarly, our jails can only do so much to prevent the spread of COVID-19. No matter how hard the staff works to sanitize, disinfect, and separate incoming arrestees, members of our community will still be locked away, facing the virus behind bars. Their families will face the virus by themselves.
This crisis shines the light on our continued over-criminalization and incarceration of those accused of crimes. We must remember that most people in a county jail have not been found guilty of breaking the law. They are simply awaiting trial and their chance to be heard. In fact, some would be home with family if they could only afford to pay bond. But as resources become scarcer and more jobs deemed nonessential, more families have to make tough decisions on how to make ends meet. Those tough decisions make people agree to sentences and plea bargains — even when not guilty — in order to get out of jail.
As we work to get through COVID-19, we must continue to call attention to what’s going on inside our courtrooms and to zealously litigate issues regarding pre-trial release, unlawful searches and seizures, and probable cause determinations. We must continue to encourage the use of programs that reduce recidivism through second chances and support. But most importantly, we cannot forget about the accused, the disfavored, and the incarcerated. Now is the time they need us the most.
In this moment, the story of what these members of our community face during this crisis is being written. We must be more vigilant than ever to preserve not just human dignity, but the protections guaranteed by the Constitution. Amidst this crisis we must advocate –- both inside and outside of the courtroom — to ensure that due process, the right to confront those making accusations against you, and most importantly the presumption of innocence, are still respected in the criminal justice system. Let us all continue to work together to ensure that justice delayed does not become justice denied.
Jessica Yeary is a board-certified criminal trial lawyer and candidate for Public Defender, Second Judicial Circuit. She can be reached on social media @JessicaYeary4PD.
