By Matthew Santoni

Law360 (July 8, 2020, 12:36 PM EDT) -- State court administrators are moving criminal court proceedings online in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, as a jump in COVID-19 cases in southwest Pennsylvania reached the courthouses just weeks after they resumed some in-person hearings.

Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas President Judge Kim Berkeley Clark announced the change Tuesday evening, ordering that as many criminal proceedings as possible be conducted via videoconference after attorneys raised concerns and the court tallied two more employees who had tested positive for the coronavirus since Allegheny County's spike in cases started in late June.

"The goal during this period of time is not only to reduce traffic in the courthouse and to give the court time to further assess the situation in the ... criminal division but also to force us all to get comfortable with remote hearings," Judge Clark's email to the district attorney's office and the defense bar said. "This may be our 'new normal' in that it is unclear how this pandemic will develop. A very large portion of criminal cases are pleas which can easily be done remotely."

The Fifth Judicial District, which covers Allegheny County, announced Monday that at least six employees in various court facilities had tested positive for COVID-19. Two more — a Pittsburgh Municipal Court employee who was tested July 5, and a probation office employee who was tested June 30 — were added to the count Tuesday, District Court Administrator Christopher Connors said.

Three members of Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr.'s office had also tested positive for the virus, according to an announcement on the office's Facebook page.

"District Attorney Zappala agrees with this decision and appreciates the court recognizing our situation and the safety issues and concerns for our staff and others who work in the courthouse," spokesperson Mike Manko said Wednesday.

"Many, if not all" prosecutors will participate in court events only through Microsoft Teams through July 17, with defense counsel and their clients encouraged to do the same, Judge Clark said. Defendants and witnesses will still be allowed into the courthouse, but applications such as Microsoft Teams will be used as much as possible, she said.

"I have asked the judges to utilize Teams whenever possible to conduct court proceedings in whole or in part, consistent with the confrontation clause, recognizing that there may be situations where it is not feasible to conduct a proceeding or an entire proceeding through Teams," she wrote. "I have also asked the judges during this week and next week to liberally grant motions for continuance from both the commonwealth and the defense, particularly in cases where the use of videoconferencing is not feasible."

Judge Clark encouraged attorneys to work out as much as possible outside court through pleas and stipulations of facts not in dispute. She pressed witnesses to participate remotely, and encouraged that postponements be done online, in advance, to prevent people from coming to the courthouse unnecessarily. The judge also said clients and witnesses should avoid bringing an "entourage" for support at in-person hearings.

Her previous order reopening the courts mandated mask use upon entering the courthouse, banned sidebar conferences outright and allowed attorneys to use their cell phones in the courtroom to communicate with their clients or witnesses so they could wait outside until they were called.

"We understand that many of us are not ready to make such a quick transition to primarily remote hearings. Unfortunately, our current situation mandates such a change and we cannot wait until we are all ready," Judge Clark wrote. "We need to start, learn from our mistakes and try to do better each day. I ask all of us in the criminal justice system to be patient and cooperative with each other during this difficult transition."

--Editing by Marygrace Murphy.

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