On Dec. 3 Brady Daniel Zipoy, who has been held in Scott County Jail since June 8 on a second-degree murder charge, sat in a jailhouse conference room with handcuffed hands resting on the table in front of him. Unlike pre-pandemic hearings, 24-year-old Zipoy, his attorneys, Scott County Judge Paula D. Vraa and state prosecutors appeared on rectangles on a computer screen instead of in a courtroom.
Like most things in the pandemic world, hearings at courthouses across the state look far different than they used to.
On Nov. 30, the Minnesota Supreme Court placed a two-month moratorium on criminal jury trials and ordered all court hearings to be held remotely.