NUECES COUNTY, Texas — Due to coronavirus concerns, all in-person civil, criminal, family jury trials and hearings scheduled in Nueces County District Courts and County Courts at Law for the weeks of September 1 through October 5 are canceled. State Representative Abel Herreo shared this information via Facebook earlier today.
This decision has postponed two Murder trials and one criminally negligent homicide case in Nueces County.
Notable Cancellations
- Kayla Valdez was supposed to go to trial for the Murder of 24-year-old Gilbert Sierra.
- Bryan Matamoros was set to appear after being charged with criminally negligent homicide.
- John Smith, who is believed to be involved in the Murder of 48-year-old Veronica Smithwick Clark.
District Attorney Mark Gonzalez said right now the cancelation of jury trials is about making sure the courts ensure the safety of the community.
"That is the number one concern and priority of our office and county and statewide officials. We are governed by the governor and the supreme court, and we are going to follow whatever instructions they give us," said Gonzalez.
This will apply to all in-person civil - criminal - and family jury trials scheduled in Nueces County district courts and county courts at law for the weeks of September 1 - October 5.
Gonzalez said most cases in his office that don't reach a jury trial are still business as usual, because they are able to use resources like Zoom to conduct daily hearings.
Jeff Lehrman, a local attorney and the president of the Corpus Christi Bar Association, said he believes the local judges making the decisions to cancel jury trials has the best interest of all parties involved, but he understands the frustration it creates.
"99-percent of all lawyers want to have a jury trial instead of a bench trial, so if you cancel jury trials, you are canceling a significant portion of cases that will get resolved," said Lehrman.
3News legal analyst Matt Manning said the order brings up a series of questions, like how you balance a person's right to have a speedy trail.
"Against the right they may sit in jail twice as long as they may have before the pandemic awaiting a jury trial," said Manning. "Then with the civil context, you have the same issues if you have a probate matter or divorce you want to take in front of a jury, you may have months or years added onto your time for justice."
"Some have been waiting over a year, and I can understand the frustration on that individual who is accused of a crime or the defense counsel. All we can do is work with what we have and adjust. I think we are doing the best job," said Gonzalez.
Meanwhile, Gonzalez said the use of Zoom involving jury trials could very well be a viable option in the future.
"We have a new grand jury coming up September 4 and 11; we are going to do a walk through on how we are utilizing Zoom to go ahead and panel grand juries. If that is successful, I can see it paneling juries using Zoom and other virtual means," said Gonzalez.