Texas Judge Holds First Virtual Jury Trial in Criminal Case
“A Texas justice of the peace opened the country’s first virtual criminal jury trial Tuesday, experiencing relatively few technical interruptions that have plagued other online court hearings since the Covid-19 pandemic began,” reports David Lee in Courthouse News Services.
“Travis County Justice of the Peace Nicholas Chu is presiding over the virtual courtroom using Zoom videoconferencing software and is broadcasting the trial live to the public on YouTube. Court proceedings began at 8:30 a.m. in a misdemeanor case against a Texas woman accused of speeding in a construction zone.”
“Prosecutors and defense attorneys spent the first three hours explaining how to use Zoom and engaged in voir dire by polling potential jurors as to their experiences and biases towards speeding tickets and construction zones. A six-member jury with one alternate was sworn in after 1 p.m. and the trial is expected to last all of Tuesday.”
