Received 03/02/2022 Supreme Court Eastern District

No. 21 EM 2020

Filed 03/01/2022 Supreme Court Eastern District

First Judicial District of Pennsylvania  
Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia 
Trial Division - Criminal 

Protocols and Guidelines for Conducting 
In-Person Criminal Jury Trials in the 
Stout Center for Criminal Justice During 
the COVID-19 Pandemic 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preamble 

The United States and Pennsylvania Constitutions guarantee all persons the right to a trial by 

jury. Jury trials are essential to our system of justice and are one of the cornerstones of our 
democracy. The right to trial by jury also provides citizens with the opportunity to participate in the 
judicial process. 
 

 

Jury Trials During the COVID-19 Pandemic 

The First Judicial District’s criminal jury trial process has undergone many changes since the 

beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 17, 2020, the First Judicial District suspended 
criminal jury trials for the health and safety of the public. On September 8, 2020, the Court 
resumed in-person criminal jury trials. Due to the spread of COVID-19, criminal trials stopped 
again on November 16, 2020. On March 4, 2021, the Court resumed in-person criminal jury trials, 
conducting four jury trials per week. In response to changed COVID-19 circumstances and the 
growing needs of the court, jury trials will double from four to eight per week, effective March 14, 
2022. 
 

COVID-19 Jury Trial Guidelines 

With continued guidance from public health officials and current COVID-19 statistical data, the 
Court will adhere to the following jury trial guidelines: 

• 
All persons shall wear a CDC-compliant face mask that covers the nose and mouth 
when inside the Stout Center. Participants may wear a face mask that has a clear window, 
provided that the face mask is CDC compliant and properly fitted over the nose and mouth. 
Face shields may only be used in combination with a face mask, not alone. 

All persons shall maintain a proper social distance of at least three feet from every 

• 
other person when inside jury selection rooms and courtrooms in the Stout Center. 

Courtroom seating shall be reconfigured to ensure a proper social distance of three 

• 
feet between each seat. 

Courtrooms and jury selection rooms shall undergo enhanced cleaning and 

• 
disinfecting protocols and hand-sanitizing stations are located throughout the Stout Center. 

Court and Judicial staff shall ensure compliance with each courtroom’s occupancy 

• 
limit, which has been established in accordance with public safety guidelines. 

Jury staff will ask all trial participants three COVID-19 screening questions on 

• 
the first day of service.1  Thereafter, Court staff will ask all trial participants the 

                                                           
1 (1) Are you currently experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 (e.g., cough, fever, chills, shortness of breath, loss of taste or 
smell?; (2) Have you tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 14 days?; and (3) Have you come into contact with anyone 
who has tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 14 days? 

screening questions each day of trial.  If any participant answers “yes” to any of the 
screening questions, Court staff will dismiss that participant immediately.  

ecognizing that the pandemic is not a static event, these protocols and guidelines are subject to 

change. For the most recent versions of these guidelines and protocols, please visit: 
http://www.courts.phila.gov/covid-19/ 

  R

Prospective Jurors  

Jury Selection and Voir Dire 

Prospective jurors will enter the Stout Center and follow signage for the employee entrance 

line, and report to the jury assembly room (Room 101). Before entering Room 101, each 
prospective juror will be asked three COVID-19 screening questions by jury staff. Anyone who 
answers “Yes” to any question will immediately be excused from jury duty. 

Jurors who pass their COVID-19 screening will be assigned a specific seat in the jury 

assembly room, which will solely be for that juror’s use. Once seated, jury staff will provide each 
prospective juror with a voir dire questionnaire to fill out using a sanitized pen. The juror will keep 
and use that pen throughout the jury selection process. 

Voir Dire 

Excusing Jurors 

Counsel shall report to Courtroom 905 by 9:00 a.m. to get his/her courtroom assignment. 

General voir dire will occur with the parties in the courtroom and prospective jurors in Room 101 
virtually via Zoom to maintain proper social distancing. Individual voir dire will occur in the 
courtroom. 

Regardless of where individual voir dire is conducted, if all counsel agree to excuse a juror, 

that juror will be excused by Court staff and directed to leave the Stout Center immediately. If a juror 
is chosen to serve on the jury, he/she will be dismissed after individual voir dire and directed to return 
the next day for trial. In the instance that the trial is expected to begin the same day, jury members 
will be asked to return to their assigned seats in the assigned deliberation room following individual 
voir dire until the entire panel has been questioned. 

Courtroom Layout, Seating, and Sanitation 

To comply with social distancing requirements, jurors will be seated in designated areas 

throughout the courtroom instead of being limited to the jury box. No juror chairs shall be moved or 
relocated at any point during the proceedings. The configuration of juror seats is not to change at any 
point over the course of the trial.  

n the “well” area of the courtroom, all attorneys, paralegals, parties, sheriffs, defendants, and 

party representatives will sit at tables where each chair is at least three feet away from every other 

  I

chair. With the approval of the presiding trial judge, counsel may move or relocate chairs and tables 
in the well of the courtroom. At the end of the trial, all relocated chairs and tables shall be returned 
to their original positions by counsel. 

 

Plexiglass will be installed in areas where social distancing is not possible. For example, 
there will be a plexiglass shield around the court reporter because the court reporter’s seat is less 
than three feet from the presiding judge’s bench and the witness stand. Mobile plexiglass barriers 
will also be available in each courtroom should they become necessary. 

Because courtrooms have been drastically reconfigured, attorneys are strongly encouraged to 
visit their respective courtrooms prior to trial to familiarize themselves with the layout. Counsel may 
email Michelle Arlene at: michelle.arlene@courts.phila.gov to set up an appointment or request to 
see the room after jury selection. Counsel are also encouraged to set up all AV/technical equipment 
before trial, provided that the courtroom is not in use. 

Each courtroom and jury room will have enhanced cleaning and disinfecting protocols 
 
performed by City employees in accordance with CDC guidelines. Hand sanitizer bottles are available 
inside courtrooms. Disinfectant spray and/or disposable wipes will be used by Court staff to disinfect 
the witness chair after each witness testifies and as necessary on other surfaces throughout the trial. All 
clipboards, notebooks, and pens provided to jurors must be sanitized by Court staff after each use.  
Court staff must direct jurors not to share any of these materials with anyone. Court staff must also 
maintain a daily log of all persons present in the courtroom. 

With the permission of the presiding trial judge, counsel may use the podium to conduct an 

examination of a witness, provided that they abide by social distancing requirements. Otherwise, 
counsel shall remain seated during the examination of witnesses. All testimony must be presented in 
person, except as otherwise permitted by the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure or Rules of 
Evidence.  
 

Witnesses shall go to the assigned courtroom and sit on the benches outside until instructed by 

Court staff to enter. All trial participants must use microphones to enable members of the public 
situated in the observation courtroom to hear the proceedings via Zoom. 

resentation of Evidence 

  P

Counsel must display all documents and other evidence on a television or projection screen 

 
unless otherwise permitted by the presiding judge. If the judge allows paper documents to be submitted 
into evidence, counsel shall ensure that there are enough copies for each person in the room to review 
them, including jurors, other counsel, witnesses, and the judge. With the Court’s permission, counsel 
may also use poster boards or flip charts on an easel. Any such use must comply with social distancing 
requirements. 

Examination of Witnesses 

Trial Procedure 

Opening Statements and Closing Arguments 

With permission from the trial judge, counsel may use the podium to make opening statements 

 
and closing arguments, provided that counsel abide by social distancing requirements. Otherwise, 
counsel must remain seated when making opening statements and closing arguments. 

Sidebars 

Sidebars are strongly discouraged while social distancing protocols remain in place. Counsel 

should instead raise anticipated issues with the judge before trial begins, during any recess, or after 
trial adjourns for the day. In the limited circumstance when a sidebar is required during the 
examination of a witness, the conference will be held in the jury deliberation room or robing room, 
with all participants in the conference maintaining social distancing. During the conference, at least 
one court officer, in addition to the assigned sheriff, shall remain in the courtroom to ensure that no 
misbehavior occurs in the absence of the judge and counsel. 

Breaks and Recesses 

Except for jurors, no trial participant may eat inside the Stout Center. During breaks and 

 
recesses, jurors must either go to the assigned deliberation room or outside of the Stout Center. All 
other trial participants must remain in their seats inside the courtroom or leave the Stout Center. 
Loitering in hallways or other areas of the courthouse is not permitted. No person may remove their 
face mask while they are on a break or recess in the Stout Center unless eating or drinking in a 
designated area. 

Contact Tracing 

Counsel are required to conduct daily COVID-19 screenings for every trial participant. If any 

person answers “yes” to any of the screening questions listed above, counsel must advise the presiding 
trial judge’s staff so that appropriate action may be taken. Counsel and staff must maintain a list of 
names and contact information for all trial participants so that they may get in touch with each person 
in case of COVID-19 exposure.  Every juror is given our pandemic coordinators information in case 
they test positive after leaving our facilities.  

Failure to Comply with COVID-19 Protocols and Contact Tracing Procedures 

All judges, attorneys, Court staff, jury staff, judicial staff, witnesses, officers, jurors, and 

 
anyone else who enters the courtroom during trial must abide by the COVID-19 protocols adopted 
herein. Counsel and Stout Center staff must remain up to date on COVID-19 protocols, as they are 
subject to change. Any failure to comply with these protocols may result in sanctions.