In-person trial gone remote: training the jury

We had ordered laptops for our jurors -- the next step, configuring each Chromebook so that a juror could access the trial with as much ease as possible. This required that each computer be opened and the Zoom application installed. To configure the computers, each "user" was required to enter an email address in order to identify themselves. Our office created user accounts for each device that began with Juror1[the case number]@gmail.com. It took about 45 minutes for each computer to be unboxed and configured.

Once the computers were configured, we proceeded to download the Zoom application to make initial access as easy as possible.

The next critical issue was how to deliver the laptops. Since the jurors had been coming to court for the past several weeks, all counsel felt the best option was for them to simply come to court and collect their new devices. Judge Gilbert Ochoa asked that a release agreement be prepared for the jurors to execute when they picked up their Chromebooks. Lee Popkin agreed to prepare one (and to include a binding arbitration agreement).

Once delivery was achieved, the next critical step was setting up a training session so all of the jurors. All sides agreed to select a "neutral" trainer, someone we could all agree could provide the basics and be available to answer any questions. So we needed to identify an instructor. I had previously worked with Mike Miller, a reporter based out of Texas with Golkow Court Reporters, who had experience reporting for the national Roundup litigation. So when the thought of who might be the best person to train our jurors, Mike was on the top of the list.

The next small problem: Judge Ochoa wanted to have his court staff attend the training, but union rules prevented them from work on a Sunday. He let us know the training needed to take place during the "work day" only. Thankfully, Mike Miller, who had agreed to do the training on a Sunday, was willing to work with us on a Friday afternoon even though he had a personal conflict with a JUUL deposition. Fortunately, I was able to call the lead counsel for defense and the lead taking the JUUL deposition and get them to agree to begin their deposition at 8 a.m. to ensure Mike's availability. I had expected the court staff, the judge, the jurors and Mike to train the jurors without counsel present, but Judge Ochoa let us know he would prefer we were monitoring/participating. Lee Popkin and I agreed to be present.

At 2:45 p.m. on Friday, Judge Ochoa, the court room attendant Robert Kreiztmeir, Lee Popkin, Mike Miller and I all logged on. Around 3:15 p.m., all but two of the jurors had logged on and were in the Zoom waiting room set to begin the training. The missing jurors could not access the trial remotely but were going to participate in the trial by coming to court each day and being placed in two separate conference rooms.

The training was a bit chaotic but, after the hour we had budgeted for the training everyone was doing pretty well. Among the rules the jurors needed to be aware of and follow was to always have their camera on, always have their microphone muted, and always be in a place by themselves when the trial was in session. Judge Ochoa expressed several times his and the court's great appreciation for the jurors service and the unique nature of the process we were about to begin. This was, to our knowledge, the first trial that began in person and was shifting to fully remote to protect the health and safety of everyone involved.

On Monday morning, the problems were not of the juror's making but on the court house side of the equation. While the trial was being conducted remotely this was still a public trial. We determined the best way to allow public access to the trial was to simulcast the remote trial "in the court room." This way, any member of the public could come to court, appropriately masked, and could view the trial. The problem was that, while we had considered most of our jurors needs, we had not thought through playing audio in the courtroom itself. It took the better part of the morning to configure the audio system so the trial could be seen and heard in court. Now, for that matter, the judge was not on the bench during the proceedings. While Judge Ochoa did "try out" the bench, when he was positioned there he needed to be masked since he was not alone in the department; also, both his audio and video suffered from the bench's computer versus the system in his chambers.

By 1:30 most of the bugs had been worked out, but there were other issues. The first was he need for each juror to "rename" themselves by their juror number. We had 14 jurors, 12 on the panel and two alternates. So juror number 13 had to change her designation from 13 to juror one, who she was replacing (due to a positive COVID test), and the others followed suit by identifying themselves as 13 and 14. This way Robert Kretzmeir, our courtroom attendant, could easily keep track of whether he was missing any members of the panel.

The next issue: Breakout rooms. Zoom has an amazing feature allowing the host to create breakout rooms and admit participants to join. One of the great "sucks" of time in a trial is having to approach the court side-bar. Invited to attend breakout rooms are all of the attorneys, assuming the court wants everyone, and the court reporter. In our court, going side-bar meant one of three things. First the judge would have counsel come to the bench, though there was a plexiglass barrier making "quiet" communication hard to achieve; second was going into the hallway outside of the court's chambers, though having to wait for everyone to leave the court and have our court reporter join us was a three to five minute exercise even before we started to address the issue at hand. And we could use chambers.

Once the side-bar breakout room was configured, to "use" side-bar took all of about five to 10 seconds for everyone to be present.

Similarly, the courtroom attendant asked for a breakout room to be created for the jurors for their convenience to gather in and allow him to do a quick roll call. Again, a very efficient use of time. It's fair to say over the 30 plus years I have had the privilege of trying cases the logistics of what I described above in Zoom accounts for about 5% to 10% of wasted "movement" time every day. It adds up.

So, day one we did not have any breakout rooms and each of the juror had different ways to identify themselves. Day two was much smoother. More on the trial in my next installment.