THURSTON COUNTY -- For the first time since July, jury trials are scheduled to resume in Thurston County along with a slew of safety guidelines aimed at preventing potential spread of COVID-19 in courtrooms.
“As trials restart, jury services will look a bit different,” reads a letter from court staff to other county department heads.
According to the letter, new safety protocols include mandatory social distancing, masks and using only one of the six Superior Court courtrooms to hold jury trials. The letter, dated Aug. 14, states trials may resume this week at the earliest. Superior Court staff and the county’s Department of Health and Social Services analyzed local health statistics to determine the reopening date. As of today, no trials have yet been scheduled, according to an online court calendar.
Previous reporting by The JOLT showed the backlog of trials has grown steadily since they were postponed in March. Trials were allowed to start again briefly in July, but were then postponed again due to health concerns. With only one courtroom large enough to hold jury trials in the courthouse (at least from a social distancing standpoint), court and county officials have been seeking a second off-site venue to serve as a courtroom.
Superior Court Administrator Pam Hartman-Beyer, in a phone call with The JOLT, noted Monday that a location in the Chandler Court area may serve as an auxiliary courtroom, but a lease hasn’t been signed yet.
Hartman-Beyer noted trials should start there no later than Nov. 1, since the costs will be covered by the national Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding, which needs to be used by the end of October.
A document updated on Aug. 13 and provided to The JOLT outlines new safety requirements for the courthouse as a whole, and jurors specifically. It indicates cleaning staff are to regularly clean surfaces that are frequently touched, like doorknobs. Additionally, some modifications have been made to courtrooms: Plexiglass windows now separate court clerks and witnesses from others in the room. Seating has been arranged to allow social distancing. Jurors will take recesses in different break rooms, and will only be allowed to remove their masks while eating or drinking.
“While acknowledging that the risk cannot be zero, the Court is committed to lowering the risk to employees and patrons as much as possible by understanding these risks and stressing individual responsibility to minimize them,” the document reads.
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