Courts and corrections suspend trials and family visits, continuing by video

LACONIA — At the Belknap County Jail and House of Correction, educational programs and on-site visits with inmates have been suspended for family members, continuing only for medical and mental health providers.

At the Belknap County Superior and Circuit courts, all jury trials and grand jury sessions, and nonessential in-person hearings and proceedings, including dispositional hearings, have been postponed until April 7, in response to Gov. Chris Sununu’s March 13 declaration of a state of emergency in New Hampshire.

As fallout from the coronavirus pandemic continues to widen and deepen for businesses, social services and government departments, including the state’s court and corrections systems, staff and residents are grappling with frequent and ongoing changes.

Brenda Champagne of Gilford, whose 37-year-old son is awaiting a parole hearing April 2 at the NH State Prison for Men in Concord, said rumors are circulating about the spread of coronavirus there and delays for inmates, and the only effective communication is by phone now that visits with family members have stopped temporarily because of the potential for virus contagion.

“I’m not getting answers. I’m not hearing from anybody,” said Champagne, who said she contacted the governor’s office, the Department of Health and Human Services as well as corrections officials before calling the newspaper.

No positive tests

Belknap County Department of Corrections Superintendent Keith Gray said Wednesday that no one has tested positive for coronavirus at the county jail, where arrested suspects wait for arraignment and bail hearings, or at the county house of correction, where inmates serve sentences for misdemeanors.

“We don’t have that in here, trust me. No one has come down with symptoms yet,” Gray said.

New arrivals are screened before entry for all flu-like symptoms, and referred to outside testing by local health care providers. Medical and mental health services continue uninterrupted for those in the system. On-site contact is limited to staff and outside physicians and mental health counselors.

“If any employees or anyone shows signs of illness, we’re recommending they stay home,” said Gray.  “We’ve eliminated volunteers and vendors for general business” until the alarm subsides.

Inmates have had video visitations since June, which are especially helpful for families with small children, who may be disturbed by the jail setting.

“People can visit from the safety of their home. They can talk to their grandmother in Kansas” or any family members accessible by phone or the department’s Skype-like conferencing system, he said.  

Parole hearings and revocations hearings for parole violations will continue as scheduled, said Laura Montenegro, public information officer for the New Hampshire Department of Corrections.

Arraignments and bail hearings will be conducted by video.

“We’re making as few transports as possible. None of us know how long this is going to last. When we get back to business as usual, there’s going to be a backlog of cases that’s going to keep people busy for a while,” Gray said.

Montenegro said the New Hampshire State Prison in Berlin and the men’s prison and women’s correctional facility in Concord are exploring video visitation by tablets that inmates can share or purchase on their own.

“Hopefully that will be in place soon,” she said.

In Belknap and other counties, court filings online and by paper, restraining order applications and issuances, and any proceedings and protective orders affecting the safety of children will continue uninterrupted. Negotiations between lawyers, including plea bargaining, are still going on by phone, said Belknap County Attorney Andrew Livernois.

When court proceedings resume, “I anticipate, yes, there’s going to be a backlog and we will reschedule them. It’s going to cause a bump and extra work. I don’t see it resulting in widespread changes to the ways we handle cases at this point,” Livernois said.

Belknap County Superior Court handles felony-level criminal cases and civil cases. The 4th Circuit Court in Laconia handles criminal misdemeanors, and family and probate court proceedings and filings.

Following orders earlier this month by New Hampshire Supreme Court Associate Justice Gary Hicks, all in-person proceedings in New Hampshire’s circuit, superior, or supreme courts have been suspended from March 16 through April 6. Court business that will continue uninterrupted includes anything that protects the constitutional rights of criminal defendants, such as bail terms and plea agreements for people who are incarcerated; protective orders and hearings for domestic violence, stalking and juvenile abuse; child-related emergency orders in divorce and parenting cases; requests for emergency orders from the Division of Children, Youth and Families; requests for detention or placement of a juvenile; emergency mental health orders such as involuntary admission and involuntary emergency admission to hospital mental health units; emergency orders in guardianship cases; requests for emergency relief in landlord/tenant matters; and proceedings related to the COVID-19 public health emergency.