Can the COVID-19 Pandemic Affect Constitutionally Protected Rights?
As the United States justice system continues to see effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the McConnell Law Firm, comprised of the leading criminal defense attorneys in Wichita, Kansas, has received various questions from concerned defendants. Many such questions relate to the extreme and far-reaching threat to the defendants’ constitutional rights.
Constitutional Rights
The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees an individual’s right to a speedy and public trial. However, as with all other facets of society, the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to drastically curtail these constitutionally protected rights.
While wars and civil unrest have previously suspended these constitutional rights in the past, the justice system has never seen such an extreme and far-reaching threat to the defendants’ constitutional rights. On March 18, 2020, the Kansas Supreme Court suspended the right to a speedy trial in Administrative Order 2020-PR-016, further noting that “no action shall be dismissed for lack of prosecution.”
Defendants Affected
According to the McConnell Law Firm founding attorney, Jonathan W. McConnell,
“Thousands of courthouses throughout the country remain closed, and countless individuals with the presumption of innocence are currently locked in disease-prone jails with no idea of when their case might proceed.”
Likewise, juries cannot be seated for any trial due to fears of spreading the coronavirus because of the logistical impossibility of safely seating a jury that complies with social distancing rules. Although the courts are encouraged to continue to perform critical functions, concerns nevertheless exist that some individuals will attempt to make plea deals in order to avoid the coronavirus-ridden prisons.
“Given that jury trials will be stalled for the foreseeable future, many courts will almost certainly suspend the running of the speedy trial clock,” said McConnell. “Indeed, many courts find that the public interest in preventing the spread of the contagion outweighs the defendant’s rights.”
The Results
Criminal defense attorneys in Wichita, like those at the McConnell Law Firm, continue to adjust to the changing legal landscape by appearing via video conferencing at court appearances and client visitations. Eventually, the courts will need to balance the costs and benefits of suspending individual constitutional rights in order to tackle an already overwhelmed criminal justice system.
