Delaware has one of the most active federal civil trial dockets in the country. On Monday, it issued this notice:
In short, Delaware is back.
Delaware has one of the most active federal civil trial dockets in the country. On Monday, it issued this notice:
In short, Delaware is back.
On Wednesday, Judge James Selna of the US District Court for the Central District of California issued an order continuing a jury trial that was set for June 1. The order is worth reading in its entirety:
Orange County is presently in the purple zone. The county would have to move two zones to the yellow zone before the court would begin conducting jury trials under the present General Order. That is unrealistic in light of the present trial date.
Several other factors compel a continuance. Criminal cases take priority under the Speedy Trial Act. This court has not tried a criminal case in over a year, and there is obviously a backlog which must be addressed once the court opens for jury trials. Moreover, there are many civil cases older than this case in the queue to be tried. There is no basis to advance this case ahead of other civil litigants who have also been waiting to go to trial.
Finally, there is a seven-week lead time to summon a jury.
The court grants the motion to continue the trial to October 12, 2021, and all other dates accordingly. The court must candidly advise the parties that there is no assurance that the trial will proceed on that date for the reasons outlined above.
The court regrets the present circumstances and ask for the parties’ patience.
In the US District Court for the Western District of Texas, Judge Alan Albright’s closely watched patent trial is underway. The US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia just issued a notice that criminal jury trials would resume March 1. In Long Island, jury selection has been set for the bellweather opioid trial brought by the New York Attorney General. Spring has sprung.
Case numbers are falling. Vaccination is proceeding. We may be on track for a return to in-person jury trials in federal court. The question is: When will we get there? Today, we have three bits of news on that topic:
Returning once again to the stage of Judge Alan Albright’s patent case in the US District Court for the Western District of Texas:
In January, a second mandamus petition was unsuccessful in the US District Court for the Federal Circuit, notwithstanding its similarity to the first mandamus petition, which was successful. Thus, the stage was set for a patent trial in Waco, which will begin Monday. Yesterday, Judge Albright issued an order setting COVID-19 procedures for the trial. These include:
So far, those procedures are typical of other pandemic trials. Then, like the coronavirus itself, things get novel:
The public is permitted to listen to the trial proceedings by telephone. The number to access both voir dire and trial proceedings is +1 551 285 1373, Meeting ID 160 438 6723, Passcode 777035.