SOUTH BEND â In 2019, St. Joseph County courts conducted just over 700 virtual hearings for defendants in the county jail.
Social distancing concerns and a special order issued by the Indiana Supreme Court near the onset of the pandemic caused virtual hearings for inmates to nearly triple in 2020, as courts held an increasing number of hearings over the phone or via video.
Last year the county jail did 2,058 video court hearings, in which the judge and attorneys are present in the courtroom but the defendant appears via video from the jail, according to St. Joseph County Sheriff Bill Redman.
Before the pandemic, jail staff would transport up to 50 inmates a day to the courthouse for hearings, Redman said. He said decreasing that number was a goal since he took office, as it creates fewer security concerns and frees up officers to patrol the courthouse buildings.