By DANA TIMS/YachatsNews.com
The jail has 60 fewer inmates. Court and district attorney employees are working from home as proceedings have ground to a near halt. People wanting to get into the Lincoln County Courthouse need an appointment and ring a buzzer to enter.
Lincoln County’s justice system, like its counterparts in Oregon’s other 35 counties, is being taxed by coronavirus concerns.
But now, less than two weeks into widespread shutdowns ordered by the state, county justice officials say they are adapting to conditions that virtually no one foresaw prior to the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Compared with the past couple of weeks, we are finally getting into a new routine,” said Lincoln County Sheriff Curtis Landers. “Things aren’t changing at such a rapid pace, which has helped our deputies a lot.”
The small area in the county courthouse used for shift-change information briefings, for instance, is now avoided. Instead, command staff relay needed details to deputies via video conferencing.
Also, decisions to halt jailing anyone arrested on misdemeanor charges has reduced the jail’s inmate population from its capacity of 161 to about 100. The result, Landers said, is more spacing to help stem the virus’ otherwise rapid spread.
While deputies still are on patrol and will respond to emergencies and calls involving public safety, deputies are using telephones and computers to take reports “for non-emergency calls that do not require an in-person response.”
The animal shelter in Newport, which is operated by the sheriff’s department, has also stopped person-to-person services, including intake and adoptions.
District Attorney Jonathan Cable is also implementing changes to minimize potential exposures among staff and the public.
“We have state-mandated duties, but we are still able to let a lot of people work from home on their laptops,” he said. “We’re trying to keep as few people in the office as possible.”
So far, and much to the relief of courthouse personnel, no new jury trials have started. The concern, of course, lies in exposing potential jurors to the disease.
The only reason to proceed with a jury trial at this point would be satisfy statutory requirements dealing with a defendant’s right to a speedy trial.
“A lot of our jurors are older, which places them in an even more vulnerable category than others,” said Sally Bovett, Lincoln County trial court administrator. “So, thankfully, we haven’t had to cross that bridge yet.”
Courts slow to a crawl
The Lincoln County Courthouse normally bustles with activity. Now, as a result of the virus, it requires an appointment to get in. Most employees are trying to work from home.
Staff are using gloves and hand sanitizers to ward off infection and disinfecting rooms after any proceedings. As in other county offices, as many as possible are working remotely from their homes.
“But unlike a lot of businesses, we can’t just shut everything down,” Bovett said. “So for those who have to come in, we are trying to be as safe as possible.”
The size of juror pools is being reduced. When permissible, some proceedings are being held only with a judge and the size of grand juries have been reduced from seven to five, the minimum required by law. If jurors are called, the court is waiving service of people with known risk factors.
On Wednesday, following a directive from the Oregon Supreme Court, Lincoln County Circuit Presiding Judge Thomas Branford imposed a higher level of restrictions on proceedings, limiting in-person appearances to just four categories and allowing other proceedings to be done by telephone or video conferencing. Trials and appearances involving traffic violations, small claims are set back until after June 1. Hearings on domestic relations, protective orders, stalking and other similar issues will be done remotely with motions for temporary relief done without a hearing, according to Branford’s order.
All motions, hearings and trials in civil matters were put off until after June 1.
Bovett acknowledged that employees, from judges on down, are working under “extremely stressful conditions. They are doing the best they can with little to no complaints.”
Staff able to work remotely are supporting those in the building by frequently calling nearby restaurants and ordering to-go lunches for them, she said.
“That’s actually happening a lot,” Bovett said. “It’s a wonderful sign of support and encouragement.”
Local attorneys are affected by the courthouse’s near-shutdown, as well.
“I don’t practice criminal law, so I don’t have to go to the courthouse much anyway,” said Margaret E. Dailey, a longtime Newport attorney. “But I do know things are moving much, much slower there than would otherwise be the case.”
If there’s any upside to the situation, it could be that calls for service, and crime levels generally, are down.
“We don’t have updated statistics yet, but crime in the county definitely appears to be lower than usual,” Landers said. “We’re hoping that lasts.”
One thing that hasn’t been tested yet, he said, is the county’s recent order closing all hotels, motels and rental properties to recreational visitors or, with some exceptions, people staying less than 30 days.
A lone blip occurred last week, when a family staying in a rental property had to remain beyond the mandated closure date because their car broke down.
“They had nowhere to go and basically just isolated themselves in their room for three days before they could leave,” Landers said. “Obviously, we had to be a little accommodating about that.”
