Some hearings held via Skype; 33 allowed in courtroom
KINGWOOD — Preston Circuit Judge Stephen Shaffer said he has nothing but praise for his staff’s work during the pandemic.
He said with the help of his staff, the county commission and the Preston County Health Department, circuit court “has stayed open from day one.”
“I believe we are one of the few counties that kept plugging 100%,” Shaffer said.
He said at the beginning of the COVID pandemic only individuals who had official business were allowed access to the court. Now, Shaffer said, 33 people can be in the courtroom at the same time.
“We went through the court room and measured off six-foot distances,” he said. “Then we numbered the seats from one to 33.”
He said if an individual leaves his or her seat during a trial break they must return to the same seat.
“Masks are required at all times in the court house,” Shaffer said. “The only time they can be removed is if you are six feet from everyone and are speaking in court.”
He said after each hearing everything in the courtroom is sanitized, including the seats.
Kayla Reckart, assistant to Judge Shaffer, said some court cases are done over Skype instead of in person.
Skype is a telecommunications app that specializes in video chats and voice calls. It can be downloaded to smart phones, tablets, PCs and Macs.
Shaffer said attorney Sam Hess first recommended using Skype and helped set it up.
“The supreme court gave us access to Skype,” she said. “We can bring up defendants and hold hearings. Neither the defendants or the attorneys have to come into court for the hearing.”
Hess was the first attorney in Preston County to hold a plea hearing over Skype, Shaffer said.
He said on one occasion he had nine or 10 people attend a hearing on Skype.
“I want to brag on the probation department, home confinement and drug court,” Shaffer said. “We are one of the few counties that continued to do drug tests. We did 200 plus drug tests last month in probation.”
He said individuals on bond or probation often transfer to Preston from other counties.
“We had some transfers that tested positive to three, four, five drugs because they were not tested in other counties,” Shaffer said.
He said his future plan is to continue staying open and taking all the precautions currently in effect.
Shaffer said the county commission, County Administrator Kathy Mace and the Preston County Health Department have all worked with him to maintain the safety of the courthouse.
He said this same cooperation has also been shown during trials.
“I just had a trial with three defendants,” Shaffer said. “The sheriff’s department, the Kingwood City Police, the DNR and the state police helped keep everything safe and we had no problems.”
He said within the next couple months he will be holding a five person kidnapping trial and a murder trial.
Shaffer said due to the size of the courtroom the trial involving the five defendants might be moved to the Kingwood Community Building, where more people could social distance.
TWEET@DominionPostWV
