A Pittsburgh Municipal Court employee and probation office staffer have tested positive for covid-19, Allegheny County court administrator Christopher Connors announced Tuesday.
He said the court employee’s test was taken July 5 and the probation office worker was tested June 30.
The announcement comes a day after other Allegheny County court employees and prosecutors were confirmed to have been diagnosed with the coronavirus.
The breakdown of those infections are:
• Two courthouse employees who tested positive on June 25 and July 2.
• A court employee who works in the City-County Building and tested positive July 4.
• A pretrial services employee who tested positive June 30.
• A family division employee who tested positive June 30. This employee was working from home.
• An employee at the Penn Hills Magisterial District Court office who tested positive July 5.
Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr.’s office also posted on social media Monday that three of its staff members have contracted the virus.
In an email, President Judge Kim Berkley Clark said the District Attorney’s Office and the criminal defense bar have “expressed interest in conducting as many court hearings as possible through videoconferencing” because of the recent increase in positive covid-19 cases.
She said other considerations designed to prevent the spread of the virus will take place from Wednesday through July 17 including:
• Many, if not all, of the assistant district attorneys participate in court events using videoconferencing programs.
• Defense counsel is strongly encouraged to use videoconferencing.
• Attempts to conduct as many other court proceedings as possible through videoconferencing.
• Encouraging judges to use videoconferencing whenever possible.
• Encouraging judges to liberally grant motions of continuance from both the prosecution and defense, particularly in cases where videoconferencing is not feasible.
“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,” Clark said.
It also will force court officials to become comfortable with remote hearings, the judge 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,” she said.
Attorneys should also consider entering into stipulations for facts not in dispute, discourage clients and witnesses from bringing an “entourage” to any in-person hearings, ensure clients and witnesses wear masks and social distance and defense attorneys explain to their clients the benefits of holding hearings, in whole or in part, remotely, according to Clark.
“We understand that many of us are not ready to make such a quick transition to primarily remote hearings,” Clark wrote. “Unfortunately, our current situation mandates such a change and we cannot wait until we are all ready. 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.”
