New Jersey’s first jury trial of the pandemic is underway in Bergen County. It’s a criminal trial, with the defendant accused of trying to set fire to his ex-wife’s home. Voir dire began last week, beginning with Zoom-based voir dire. Now the defendant has moved to suspend the trial until alleged constitutional deficiencies can be corrected or until “normal” jury selection can resume. The defendant raises issues that the judiciary has been grappling with since the pandemic began, writing:

Bergen County’s implementation of electronic notifications, electronic jury questionnaire submissions, and Zoom-based voir dire has limited an entire socioeconomic group’s participation in jury service. Those who cannot afford a computer are eliminated from jury service because they cannot submit questionnaires. Others who cannot afford internet service are prevented from appearing at the initial stages of jury selection by Zoom. Furthermore, those who lost their jobs during the pandemic and never had to learn how to participate in a Zoom conference are at a technological disadvantage.

 

The unemployed and elder portions of the prospective jury pool are similarly impacted by the County’s shift to use of electronic procedures…The jury pool cannot represent a true ‘cross-section’ of the Bergen County community if these demographic groups are excluded.’’