GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- The numbers are staggering.
Well over 1,000 cases are part of the significant backlog awaiting for jury trials to start again in Kent and Ottawa counties’ court systems.
In Kent and Ottawa counties, like other Michigan counties, trials have been backing up for a year as the coronavirus pandemic put a stop to jury trials for most court systems due to safety concerns.
In Kent County alone, Prosecutor Chris Becker estimates there are 950 cases set for trial in 17th Circuit Court. “This is somewhat of a moving number, cases are resolving a bit, but nowhere near the amount of ‘normal’ range,” he said.
In Ottawa County, Prosecutor Lee Fisher estimated about 300 cases are awaiting trial.
Like much of Michigan, the two large Grand Rapids-area counties are preparing courtrooms with additional coronavirus safety features in hopes of starting to hold jury trials again. Except for a few, jury trials have been shut down since the pandemic hit Michigan back in March 2020.
Kent and Ottawa court officials are pointing to April as the earliest jury trials would start again in each county.
Kent County Chief Circuit Judge Mark Trusock is hopeful there are no setbacks to the planned resumption of trials.
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“Nobody wants this court not having trials,” Trusock said. “The victims don’t want it, the defendants don’t want to be sitting in jail, the judges don’t want it, the prosecutors don’t want it, the defense attorney don’t want to not be able to move things along.
“It’s important that we get the system up and running again.”
One of the oldest Kent County cases is that of 30-year-old Tatiana Fusari, accused of murder in the starvation death of her 10-month-old daughter in August 2018. Fusari has been in jail since Aug. 3 of that year.
Her husband, Seth Welch, was convicted of felony murder in January 2020 and sentenced to life in prison later last year. Fusari initially pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of second-degree murder two days after her husband’s conviction, but later withdrew the plea and argued that she was unable to protect her daughter due to physical and emotional abuse from her husband.
Becker said Fusari’s case is one of two 2018 serious felony cases set for trial. There are several more from 2019.
In Ottawa County, Fisher estimated the county has at least 100 felony cases and 200 misdemeanor cases awaiting trial. There are six pending homicide cases, two attempted murder cases and 18 first-degree sex assault cases that can carry a penalty up to life in prison.
“There are many more less serious felony cases pending all due to COVID. If it were not for COVID I am sure that most, if not all of these cases would be resolved or there would be trials set for them in the very near future,” Fisher said.
In Ottawa County, the oldest homicide case still unresolved is believed to be that of 27-year-old Jaron Chatman, charged with involuntary manslaughter in the October 2019 death of his wife, 24-year-old Emily Marie Chatman.
Fisher said the latest plan, based on current COVID-19 numbers in West Michigan, is to start in-person trials on April 12 with safety precautions.
A judge will use two courtrooms to conduct a single trial -- all in hopes of keeping everyone socially distanced from one another. One courtroom will be used for jury selection and deliberation, while the other will be used to conduct the trial.
In Kent County, Trusock said the State Court Administrator’s Office moved the county to a Phase Two designation on Monday, allowing some in-person court activity with only a handful of people in the courtroom.
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Circuit court judges can conduct in-person sentences, take pleas and handle other matters, but any trials could be four to six weeks away.
Kent County has more than a dozen murder trials pending, Trusock said.
Trusock and other judges have been preparing for restarting trials, also with a focus on safety. A key component involves using plexiglass barriers to separate people in close quarters. The idea is to prevent any coronavirus spread that could come from someone sneezing or just breathing.
“If you look at my jury box, it looks like a hockey rink,” he said. Each seat in the jury box is like a cubicle surrounded by plexiglass.
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Trusock said that, when trials start, the plan is to pick juries on a large conference room on the fifth floor of the downtown Grand Rapids courthouse. It will allow for social distancing.
The backlog of trials, while lengthy, is perhaps not as bad as it could be, he said. Trusock and other judges have been resolving many cases through pleas.
Court administrators meet with Kent County Health Director Adam London periodically to get his insights and recommendations.
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