BEND — At a time when social distancing has kept Oregonians apart during a pandemic, courts still require people — prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, court staffers, defendants, corrections deputies and victims — to physically gather in the same room.

That balance between protecting society from the novel coronavirus and protecting constitutional rights was tested this week in Deschutes County Circuit Court by Bend defense attorney Lisa Calyn Valenta. Because her husband is home under a self-imposed quarantine after showing signs of COVID-19, Valenta has tried to remain home as much as possible to help prevent the spread of the contagious and potentially fatal coronavirus.

But when she asked to appear for a hearing Thursday via telephone, the judge involved said no. By the hearing, though, another attorney was allowed to stand in for Valenta.

The episode highlights the confusion many in the Oregon legal community now feel as judges work to strike a legal and societal balance.

Valenta is representing Todd Alan Whitehorn, of Bend, in a 2019 domestic violence case. Whitehorn is an inmate of the Deschutes County jail who had a plea hearing scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Thursday.

In Deschutes County, inmates typically appear at these afternoon “in-custody” hearings by video, while their lawyers appear in-person in the courtroom.

On Tuesday, Valenta asked the court to allow her to appear by phone.

“Counsel’s husband is currently in self-quarantine at home after developing some symptoms of COVID-19 over the weekend,” Valenta wrote in a motion. “Counsel can effectively and zealously represent Defendant’s interests over the telephone while doing her part to limit the spread of COVID-19.”

The Deschutes County District Attorney’s office didn’t object to the motion, but Judge Wells Ashby, the court’s presiding judge, denied it.

When the hearing arrived Thursday afternoon, another attorney was allowed to appear in Valenta’s place. That lawyer, TJ Spear, has filled in for other members of the Bend Attorney Group in recent weeks, often wearing surgical gloves and a facemask. Other firms have followed suit, sending one lawyer to the courthouse per day to aid in social distancing.

Had the judge not allowed Spear to stand in for Valenta, she could have faced a contempt of court action or an ethics complaint with the state bar.

Valenta told The Bulletin her husband has a headache, cough and fever. He’s not yet been able to get tested for COVID-19, but his employer asked him to stay home.

Attorneys who spoke to The Bulletin said this jurisdiction is known around the state as one in which judges strongly prefer lawyers to appear in-person in criminal matters. And this attitude has continued during the coronavirus outbreak.

Deschutes District Attorney John Hummel said he’d prefer his prosecutors be able to appear by phone during the coronavirus outbreak.

Hummel said at the courthouse, defense attorneys and defendants are the most at risk of exposure to COVID-19, given courtroom layouts with judges, staff and prosecutors afforded some physical separation. Defense attorneys also have an obligation to meet face-to-face with their clients.

Earlier this month, Oregon Chief Justice Martha Walters issued an order to reduce traffic into and out of courthouses. The order states courts “shall consider their abilities to provide services remotely or telephonically.”

Since then, lawyers and court staff have worked to postpone what hearings can be postponed, and reduce dockets to only the most necessary events. Law enforcement agencies have also done their part, by writing citations rather than taking subjects into custody.

Life at the Deschutes County Courthouse has been quite different overall, lawyers told The Bulletin. A court staff member now questions everyone who enters the building, asking if they have coronavirus symptoms and if it’s necessary that they attend court. Hand sanitizer is placed in common areas and seats in courtroom galleries are blacked out to accommodate social distancing.

At the jail, the inmates have been given cleaning supplies. Conference rooms are scrubbed down between each meeting of lawyers and clients.

As of Thursday afternoon, the jail housed 190 inmates, or about 100 inmates below the pre-outbreak average.

Walters is expected to issue an update order Friday based on input received in the past few weeks.

Hummel said judges have a difficult job striking the right balance every day.

“Nobody would get coronavirus if we shut down the courthouse completely, but we can’t do that,” he said. “The Constitution can’t just be put on hold.”