SLO County residents will start getting jury summons soon as Superior Court resumes trials
San Luis Obispo County residents will soon once again be receiving summons for jury service after the Superior Court announced that jury trials will resume next month.
Trials and a significant portion of the court’s in-person services were suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic March 18.
On Thursday, presiding Judge Jacquelyn Duffy and executive officer Michael Powell issued a news release saying the court will resume criminal jury trials on June 15.
Days after the local court’s suspension of trials, California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye issued an order effectively suspending all jury trials for 60 days.
On April 29, 2020, the Chief Justice issued another order allowing 30 additional days to conduct a criminal trial but encouraged courts to collaborate with local justice system partners to begin conducting trials at an earlier date, if a court is able to do so in compliance with applicable health and safety laws.
San Luis Obispo Superior Court administration says county residents will shortly be receiving summons to appear during the week of June 15.
“Jurors perform a critical role in providing access to justice,” Duffy said in the news release. “We are extremely grateful to our community members who will be performing this essential function.”
But the court will continue to take precautions and have implemented new procedures to protect prospective jurors from COVID-19.
Online questionnaires will allow jurors to request to be excused for hardship prior to reporting in person to the courthouse.
The court also expects to call in substantially smaller panels of jurors to allow for appropriate physical distancing and other safeguards.
Jurors will also be summoned at different times and on different days to reduce the number of jurors appearing at any one time and physical distancing will be maintained throughout the entire jury trial process, the court says.
Face coverings will also be strongly recommended for all participants, and the court will provide masks as needed.
Larger courtrooms and alternative venues will be used for jury selection and jury deliberations, and fewer trials will be in session at the same time to reduce the number of people in the courthouse, according to the release.
Once the evidence phase of a trial is over, jury deliberations will occur in the courtroom or an alternate venue rather than inside jury rooms, to ensure physical distancing.
Summoned jurors who have health concerns related to COVID-19 will be allowed to defer their service to a future date. Prospective jurors should expect an e-mail from the court with more detailed information about their service.
For more information, visit the court website at slo.courts.ca.gov.
