A Texas court in the Dallas region gathered around 30 citizens each on their webcam to operate the selection of a jury, an initiative unprecedented in the United States in these times of coronavirus pandemic.
Since the start of the health crisis, American courts have converted to hearings by video or audio conference, but the jury trials have been postponed.
In Collin County, judge Emily Miskel, who thinks her experience is a national first, had a month to prepare for the hearing and make it "as close as possible to a trial in the presence of people".
Two virtual rooms
"Normally, we convene a panel of about 45 people who all sit in the courtroom," she explains. Instead, she created two virtual rooms on the Zoom videoconferencing service, and broadcast this selection of the jury, one of the first stages of the trial, in real time on her YouTube channel.
Despite some technical hiccups, judge Miskel believes that the session went well: "The few things that went wrong were things that also go wrong in the real court," she told AFP. .
Dressed like her in the usual black dress of magistrates, her colleague Keith Dean told the jurors: "You are serving as a jury and it just so happens that you are at home."
This insurance lawsuit trial was close to mediation and had little stake, making it the perfect test for future jury trials.
The jury's verdict is not binding and, once rendered, the two parties could reach an amicable agreement.
"Even if we restart the procedures in the courtroom today, everyone would be masked and it would be difficult to hear, understand, judge the credibility" of the evidence, said Emily Miskel, who nevertheless deplores the inequalities in internet access.
The court is working to provide booths equipped with shelves for people who cannot afford to be present virtually.