The Clarion County court system is coping with the coronavirus.
When all county buildings were ordered to be closed to the public in March, the courts were forced to overhaul the way justice is served.
Plea and sentence court is usually a hectic day in the county with all the defendants, their attorneys, deputies and court staff all in the courtroom at the same time. That had to change with social distancing in effect.
In her order curtailing attendance in court, Seidle-Patton said, “For all court proceedings, only parties, witnesses and attorneys are permitted to be present in the courtroom or hearing room. All other individuals will be asked not to enter the courthouse. Whenever possible, court proceedings will be conducted via advanced communication technologies such as video and telephone.”
The biggest change has been the introduction of technology in the courtroom. No electronic devices were permitted in the courtroom prior to the outbreak of the virus.
“We had behavioral court today (Thursday) via phone,” Seidle-Patton said. “Treatment court was held via Zoom conference call last week.”
The probation department is still operating at full capacity,” the judge said. She added probation officers are making phone calls rather than seeing people face to face.
“We have had difficulty getting drug and alcohol assessments that are a part of our pre-sentence investigation,” the judge said.
Court proceedings that can be continued to a later date are being continued on a case-by-case basis.
“It is definitely creating a backlog in the court system,” Seidle-Patton said. “We are going to have some very busy days ahead of us.”