Trials postponed. Defendants arraigned via Zoom. Lawyers dressed in suits sitting in their living rooms while conducting hearings.
The COVID-19 pandemic saw the running of Massachusetts courts change dramatically. Jury trials were suspended for much of last year and are just getting restarted. Many, if not most, hearings have been conducted remotely. Information that was previously gathered in person now has to be done via email, mail or fax.
Those changes have not been easy for defense attorneys and their clients.
“I think it’s been rough for the courts, but I don’t blame them for any of this,” said Kenneth Gross, a Natick defense attorney. “You’ve had jury trials that were canceled for the year. Now they have a backlog of jury trials, and that’s not the court s fault. It has changed the landscape a lot. You have lawyers who don’t want to go to court because of health concerns. There’s a reluctance to bring defendants to court because of COVID. It’s creati