U.S. Courts Try Out Social Distancing, Video for Grand Juries

After months of being shuttered by the coronavirus pandemic, the doors at federal courthouses around the nation are slowly starting to swing open with the convening of socially distanced grand juries.

Jurors, tasked with deciding whether to issue criminal indictments, will be seated far apart from one another, or in some cases—like in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, and in Montana’s federal district court—will be required to view proceedings via video in different rooms or courthouses.

That use of video is worrisome, said Nina J. Ginsberg, president of the National Association of Criminal Defense ...