As the COVID-19 pandemic slows down and the number of positive cases retreats back to lower levels, the Iowa Supreme Court has followed suit with many others and eliminated many of the restrictions inside courtrooms.

Earlier this year the state supreme court discontinued requiring facemasks in courtrooms for those who were not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and they also did away with having to be socially distant from one another. Greene County Attorney Thomas Laehn shares his thoughts about no longer having to wear a mask.

“I was glad to see that change made. I think for most of us in Greene County, when we’re out in public at the grocery store, at church, we’ve stopped wearing masks a long time ago. It’s nice now that when we go into the courtroom that requirement (is) no longer there.”     

Laehn notes having to wear masks provided obstacles to overcome, including being able to see a witness or defendant’s facial reactions to what was being said in the courtroom, along with hearing those comments.

“It’s hard for jurors to hear when witnesses are testifying through a mask, or hard to hear the judge, or an attorney, understand what’s being said in the courtroom. So they did interfere with the administration of justice. Hopefully, this pandemic is subsiding and we won’t have to go back to masks again. As long as we can keep having courts safely without them, I think it’s for the better.”       

Laehn adds judges still have the discretion to require anyone to wear a mask during a court proceeding. However, the previous jury trial that happened in Greene County, Laehn says everything returned to pre-covid stipulations.