Jurors finally return to Miami-Dade courts under COVID rules. Are they excited? Well ...

For the first time in one year, jurors on Tuesday took their seats in two separate Miami-Dade County courtrooms.

Both cases were relatively minor but they represented a major step toward slowly cranking back up the machinery of criminal and civil law stalled by the coronavirus pandemic. For everyone involved in the milestone events, it proved an experience both familiar and strange — especially for jurors.

That was most evident from a domestic abuse case overseen by County Judge Eleane Sosa-Bruzon. During jury selection on Monday, she was flanked by tables, one for the prosecution, another for the defense, large clear panels between them. Jurors sat in chairs spaced out facing the legal teams.

Everybody wore masks. The judge, in her opening comments to jurors, noted she was wearing two.

“We are the first. As with anything, there will be some hiccups,” she said. “We are going to try and minimize that. ... Who is excited to be here today? This is the first criminal jury trial. Are you not excited to be a part of this?”

No prospective juror appeared to raise a hand — pretty much the same response you’d expect before the pandemic. Serving on a jury, though immensely important, is not always a popular civic duty.

The juries began listening to evidence and lawyers’ statements on Tuesday. At 10:03 a.m., masked jurors sat not in the jury box, but spaced out in the pews of courtroom 4-1 at the historical Miami-Dade civil courthouse downtown. Next to each juror was a box with pen, notepads — and gloves. With no public observers allowed in as usual, three webcams streamed different views on YouTube.

“We thank you for answering the call. You’re doing something, we haven’t been able to do in quite a while,” lawyer Hector Mesa, representing the Granada Insurance Co., told jurors. “This past year, we’ve lost a lot. ... Some see this jury as the first step in building back what we lost. It’s the first step to reaching the post COVID era.”

Five minutes later, in the family courthouse down the block, Miami-Dade prosecutor Lisa Wyrsch stepped up to the podium and immediately launched into the case against Oscar Mondeja of Hialeah, accused of grabbing and pushing his ex-girlfriend in a jealous rage in 2019, right after she recorded their spat with her phone.

“I urge you to pay attention to this live recording. You are going to see the danger build and build and build,” Wyrsch told jurors.

Miami-Dade Assistant Public Defender Kai Fiske, in his opening statement, fired back — that the woman was upset that Mondeja had started seeing someone new.

“She hated seeing how happy he was,” Fiske said. “That jealousy turned to anger, and in her anger she falsely accused him of a crime.”

For Mondeja, the gamble to go to trial was worth it. On Tuesday evening, the jury — after a brief deliberation — acquitted Mondeja of the misdemeanor charge of battery.

In Miami-Dade, Florida’s most populous and busy court circuit, a backlog of cases has been building since the novel coronavirus largely shut down in-person court hearings in March 2020.

“After so much planning to establish health safety procedures that would enable us to restart our jury trials during the pandemic, it is very gratifying to see our trials running smoothly,” Miami-Dade Chief Judge Bertila Soto said Tuesday. “We are especially grateful to our jurors, who understood the importance of the jury trial and did not hesitate to serve.”

With COVID-19 numbers declining in recent months across the state, other counties across Florida already have begun in-person jury trials. Miami-Dade court officials had hoped to resume them in late 2020 on a limited basis. But no cases could be found to be tried — and the holiday surge of COVID-19 cases forced the courts to again suspend trials through Feb. 28.

The need is particularly acute in the criminal division because the jail population has swelled back up to about 4,000, around what it was before the pandemic.

For the past year, a task force of court and county officials, prosecutors, defense lawyers and health experts have been meeting regularly to plan how criminal jury trials might unfold safely in Miami-Dade. They rolled out an array of safety measures, including health checks, minimizing the amount of people in court and arranging spacious seating to avoid people sitting too near each other.

The courthouses remain closed for all other hearings, which are being conducted via Zoom.

In both cases, potential jurors who could not serve because of health or scheduling concerns were culled from online and phone questionnaires — to eliminate the need for them to come to the buildings.

Monday’s questioning of potential jurors, done with the help of a microphone, was not unusual, with questions being asked about views on burdens of proof, different types of evidence and willingness to be impartial.

Over in civil court, the case involved Luis Joray, a motorist hurt in a 2011 car crash. The Pain & Injury Treatment Center filed suit against Granada Insurance over $10,000 worth of disputed claims. The jury selection was conducted via Zoom.

“Wow, this is weird. This is the first virtual jury selection I’ve ever done,” said the treatment center’s lawyer, Ryan Peterson, as he began questioning.

Jurors, from their couches and home desks, were asked about their thoughts on and experiences with insurance companies. Connections were spotty for a few jurors. Some appeared as shadowy heads, backlit by windows. Another attended with a large white cat in his lap.

One juror could not turn on his camera because his battery was dying. “How do I turn on the video?” another befuddled juror asked as a bailiff instructed her how to download Zoom.

The whole process lasted nearly seven hours. The six who made the cut appeared in person to take their seats at the civil courthouse on Tuesday. The civil trial is expected to continue on Wednesday.

This story was originally published March 2, 2021 at 2:52 PM.