OTLA Trial Lawyer Spring 2021

3 Trial Lawyer • Spring 2021 be free to request in-person appearances in specific cases. Reports vary as to the relative success of holding requisite hear- ings along these lines. As to jury trials, the work group de- termined that cases with few litigants such as auto collisions and premises lia- bility could be held in a courthouse utilizing two courtrooms. Multiple party cases would require relocating and using a larger remote site to allow for social distancing. Not everyone agreed. There was considerable pushback from the the defense bar commmittee members about holding jury trials at all, particularly when witnesses and jurors would be re- quired to wear masks. Those folks claimed masks would seriously impair their ability to determine truthfulness. When our folks suggested that voir dire could be accomplished using Zoom, so masks would not be necessary, many of the defense bar members claimed that was unworkable as well because we would have no idea what those darn jurors were doing when they weren’t on camera re- sponding to lawyers’ questions. The work group seemingly became an exercise in futility, and few if any jury trials were held in the months immedi- ately following these discussions. A path forward By fall, many of our members and their clients were in dire straits. Unable to schedule jury trials, folks began rat- tling the cages. This noise did not go unheard. OTLAmember Paul Bovarnick worked with a Multnomah Bar Associa- t i on c ommi t t e e t o b r a i n s t o rm additional ideas.The committee included OTLA members Cox, Richardson, Kelly Battley, Melissa Bobadilla and Katherine Heekin. Multnomah County Presiding Judge Bushong assigned Judges Dahlin, Mata- razzo and von Ter Stegge the task of putting together another work group to study and recommend ways to get the backlog of cases moving again once the December “COVID freeze” was lifted. The group that worked on this plan included Dretke and Richardson. Judge Dahlin took a keen interest in finding alternative solutions to just wait- ing things out. To that end, he requested the names of parties who were willing to take a stab at alternatives such as remote voir dire , six person juries, judicial settle- ment conferences with Plan B judges and alternative venues. OTLA member Stephen Voorhees jumped at the opportunity. His opposing attorney agreed and the entire trial, in- cluding voir dire , was was conducted virtually March 15 through 18. Voorhees was able to participate from his home office. At the end, jurors delivered a positive result for Voorhees’ client, who had been injured in a car crash. Meanwhile, other courthouses across the state have found ways to get trials back on track. Jackson County is using the old South Medford High School and has been able to hold civil jury trials in person. OTLA members Faith Morse and Kelly Andersen tried a case there last November. Deschutes County, under the guidance of Presiding Judge Ashby, rented a 15,000 square foot building at the local fairgrounds and has been run- ning in-person jury trials there since October. Some members, including myself, have waived the jury and tried cases to the court in person, with some witnesses appearing via Zoom. Others, including OTLA member Andy Waters, have tried entire bench trials to the federal courts over Zoom. Others are preparing to try their cases to juries via remote or semi-remote means. Another positive sign came on March 12, when Chief Justice Walters sent a letter to the members of the state bar, stating, in part, (1) We will no longer hold proceed- ings in abeyance due to COVID-19; (2) We will schedule and conduct trials, including jury trials; (3) We will resolve discovery issues and conduct case management confer- ences; (4) We will provide and en- courage settlement conferences and other means for alternative dispute resolution; and (5) We will employ the services of retired, senior judges. In short, we are finally seeing things move in the right direction to get civil jury trials back on track. However, these efforts are not uniform across the state. It’s going to be up to each attorney to press to get trials set for their clients. In my mind, justice may be delayed, but it will not be denied. And for that, I am incredibly proud to stand by your side in this effort. Tim Williams specializes in personal in- jury and product liability. He is a manag- ing partner at Dwyer Williams Cherkoss Attorneys PC. He contributes to OTLA Guardians of Civil Justice at the Stalwart level. His office is located at 1558 SW Nancy Way, Ste. 101, Bend, OR 97702. Williams can be reached at 541-617-0555 or tim@rdwyer.com.