It was another day in the Boone County courthouse in October, and there was an overwhelming sense of parallel worlds.
13th Circuit Court Judge Hasbrouck Jacobs was on the bench, shuffling papers, while occasional disembodied sounds — static, voices — came through the courtroom’s speakers. He gazed into his computer screen at a virtual gathering of the people who usually come to court — lawyers, defendants in the Boone County Jail, advocates and others.
Only the state prosecutor, bailiffs and a couple of observers joined him in the courtroom.
The courts have been operating since August according to phases laid out by the State Supreme Court, which provides guidance about the level of in-person operations.
In phase one — in effect since Oct. 25 — only 10 people are allowed in a courtroom at once. The phases take into account risk of exposure to COVID-19. So far, there have been three occasions of positive cases among court staff, which have prompted a return to online operations. In-person proceedings gradually resume over the next two weeks.