Felony guilty plea via Zoom makes Kane County court history
A simple guilty plea made Kane County court history Friday by being the first hearing televised in a Zoom videoconference, officials said.
Shain A. Richter, 31, of Trout Valley was sentenced to two years of probation after he admitted to possession of a small amount of cocaine in his wallet from a December 2019 traffic stop in East Dundee. As a first-time drug offender, the charge will be dismissed from his record if he completes his probation.
Court officials said the milestone was an example of how the 16th Judicial Circuit is using technology to move some cases forward as the COVID-19 pandemic has forced suburban courthouses to severely scale back operations.
"I thought it was good. That's the first felony plea (via Zoom) we've done," Kane County Chief Judge Clint Hull said after watching the Zoom stream from Judge Charles Petersen's courtroom on a YouTube livestream. "We're learning every day."
A defendant must request a case to be heard over Zoom and attorneys on both sides must agree. Court officials are trying to limit Zoom hearings in criminal cases to status hearings and motions that lawyers can argue before a judge without calling several witnesses.
Friday morning's plea followed all the procedural steps for a guilty plea, such as the defendant being advised of his rights, attorneys stipulating to the factual basis of the crime and a court reporter making an official record.
Richter, whose case would have been pushed back to July had it not been for the Zoom option, logged on from home and had to show Peterson his driver's license to prove his identity.
"Those are precautions you have to take. Those are things everybody's trying to figure out," Hull said.
Richter signed the guilty plea forms earlier in the week and emailed them to Kane County Assistant Public Defender Christopher Sparks, and had to tell Petersen he consented to a hearing via Zoom.
Judge Robert Villa credited Hull for leading the effort for the 16th Judicial Circuit to employ more technology to improve and adapt during the pandemic.
"Embracing technology for remote hearings will not only help today but I believe will improve everyone's access to justice going forward. And it likely won't be the only improvement made; as court systems across Illinois and the nation are collaborating with a(n) eye for improving future services," Villa wrote in a social media post.