New Jersey Supreme Court Order Suspends Jury Trials Amid Second Wave of COVID-19 Pandemic

The Supreme Court issued an order today suspending criminal and civil jury trials
and in-person grand jury sessions in response to a second wave of COVID-19
infections.

Most court hearings have been held remotely since the start of the COVID-19
outbreak in March. As COVID cases declined and the court put safety measures in
place, limited in-person proceedings, including socially distanced jury trials and inperson grand jury sessions, were able to resume in September.

“The increasing rates of new cases, hospitalizations and deaths make it
impracticable and unsafe for certain in-person court events to continue at the level
reached during the past few months,” the Court wrote in an order signed by Chief
Justice Stuart Rabner.

The Court’s order extends the period of excludable time for prosecutors to bring
cases to a grand jury by 45 days. In-person grand jury panels can switch to a virtual
format, and existing virtual grand jury panels may continue to convene, under the
order.

Virtual grand juries have been established in all 21 counties. The Judiciary has
provided technology as necessary to enable participation by all qualified jurors.
Since the start of the pandemic, judges have conducted more than 100,000 remote
court events involving more than 1.2 million participants.

The one in-person jury trial in progress will be allowed to continue. Fewer inperson trials are ordinarily held in late-November and December.

Since September, about a dozen jury trials have been conducted. The resumption
of jury trials, though, resulted in the resolution of more than 115 criminal cases and
settlements in more than 225 civil cases.

The Court said in its order that it will continue to be guided by experts in public
health as it administers court operations in a manner that prioritizes the safety of
court users.