Report finds a ‘hybrid’ approach jury trials ‘is a realistic and feasible option’

It took a small army of judges, court administrators, Duval Court Clerk staff, IT managers — and ABOTA Jacksonville and Chester Bedell Inn of Court volunteers — to design Florida’s first fully remote, binding civil jury trial, according to an October 27 report.

Fourth Circuit Judge Bruce Anderson writes in the report that the project met his goal “to create the look, feel and sound of an in-person courtroom remotely,” while respecting decorum.

But he concludes that a fully remote trial is too resource-intensive to serve as a practical solution for solving an estimated 990,000 case-backlog that has accrued since COVID-19 forced the suspension of jury trials in March.