Elyria Municipal Judge Gary Bennett announces COVID-19 diagnosis; court staff being tested

ELYRIA — Elyria Municipal Judge Gary Bennett said Monday that he is resting at home after testing positive for COVID-19, along with his wife and son. The judge said his courtroom at the Elyria Municipal Court on Broad Street downtown was shut down Monday and that he arranged to have his staff tested. They likely will be off work for the remainder of the week, he said. Lawyers and those with business in the court also were informed. Judge Robert White has taken over arraignments and is covering important court work for the time being, Bennett said. Bennett said his son is in the hospital and his wife has been diagnosed with pneumonia. "We've done everything right. Wore masks, socially distanced. It just happens," he said. "It's out there ... It's scary." The judge said his concern is for his family, his staff and the community at large. "I've got a great staff and I worry about them. They're dedicated, hard workers and they did nothing except come to work like I did. The fact that they came to work means they were exposed," he said. "We've kept the courts open. I think we have a duty to do that. It's a vital part of America. My staff are essential workers." Elyria Municipal Court adopted COVID-19 precautions early on in the spring. As of the second week of May, all visitors were required to wear masks, have their temperature checked and no one under 18 was allowed to enter the courthouse. Hand sanitizer also was provided for all visitors, who were banned from entering if their temperatures were over 100 degrees. Court employees also were required to have their temperatures taken, and a number of essential court functions went to an online format to limit the number of people in the building with help from a $23,000 state grant. Public areas of the courthouse were heavily sanitized and lines and seating in the courthouse spread out for social distancing purposes. Courtroom capacity was reduced from 60 seats to 19 and fewer family members of defendants or victims allowed in. Despite all those precautions, on May 17 a male member of the courthouse security team tested positive for the coronavirus and all security staff were quarantined for 14 days. Elyria police officers helped provide security in the meantime. The courthouse closed for two days to allow for cleaning and other precautionary steps to be taken. Cases that could be handled remotely by telephone or video were done that way, and others rescheduled. The Ohio Supreme Court, Lorain County Public Health, the Lorain County Prosecutor's Office and Lorain County Clerk of Courts also consulted with the municipal court on ways to keep the justice system going and gave advice on how to proceed, Bennett and White told The Chronicle-Telegram at the time. One of the busiest municipal courts in Ohio — with more than 20,000 new cases annually and 125,000 visitors — Elyria Municipal Court handles misdemeanors, ordinance violations, traffic cases and small civil claims filed in Elyria, North Ridgeville, Grafton, LaGrange, Carlisle, Columbia, Eaton, Elyria, Grafton and LaGrange townships. The courts "can't close," Bennett said. "That's pretty clear," he said. "Certain parts of society have to go on. I'm happy to be able to say, our court employees are essential workers. We're coming in contact with strangers, people we don't know ... We're still at risk and this is showing." "I never thought it was going to happen to me," he added. Despite that, Bennett said he wasn't ashamed of his diagnosis. "It's nothing I'm shameful of. I think as a community leader, (a reporter calls) me and asks me questions I have the responsibility to answer those questions truthfully. They're not nameless faces, our neighbors, friends and acquaintances who have it, and I'm going to be a face a lot of people recognize, who has it." He said he was saddened not to be able to visit his 92-year-old mother this Thanksgiving, which he called his "most favorite holiday," full of family traditions. He said he's "banking" that his family will be able to have a normal Christmas. "I just want people to know that it's real and it can happen no matter how cautious you are," Bennett said. "It's real. It's real and I'm willing to talk about it just so everyone knows it's out there," he said. "It's not a joke, it's not a political statement by anybody. It's real and it's out there." Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Follow him at @daveobrienCT on Twitter.