The Jury Returns
News and Updates on Court Matters and Reopening Operations
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Monitoring the Reopening

By on Feb 16, 2021
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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:

  • On Friday, the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois continued the suspension of jury trials through April 5, 2021.
  • Also on Friday, the US District Court for the District of Minnesota continued the suspension of jury trials through May 2, 2021.
  • In the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Lorna Schofield has set a major patent infringement jury trial for May 3. Notably, however, the April 23 final pre-trial conference is telephonic.


It’s Not Just the Pandemic, Unfortunately.

By on Jan 15, 2021
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Even though jury trials are, with limited exceptions, on hold, many federal courthouses have managed to stay open throughout this winter surge of the virus. But as we know all too well here in Washington, DC, the pandemic is only one obstacle to normalcy.

We just received this order from the US District Court for the District of Minnesota:

Due to security threats made against federal buildings and courthouses in the District of Minnesota, the United States Courthouses located in St. Paul, Minneapolis and Fergus Falls will be closed from 12:00 a.m. on Sunday, January 17, 2021, through 5:00 a.m. on Thursday, January 21, 2021. At the United States Courthouse located in Duluth, the US District Court, US Bankruptcy Court and US Probation and Pretrial Office will be closed for the same period. The court has consulted with the US Marshal’s Service and the General Services Administration in making this decision.

We expect to see other such orders in the next several days. We hope it is not the beginning of a trend.



Content May Soon Run Out

By on Nov 22, 2020
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What will we write about when all the courts have closed?

We are rapidly on the way to finding out, especially in the federal system. Here’s a summary of recent federal district court orders on jury trials:

Eastern District of Arkansas: Civil and criminal jury trials scheduled before January 15, 2021 are continued to a later date.

District of Colorado: Civil and criminal jury trials scheduled before January 8, 2021 are continued to a later date.

Northern District of Illinois: Civil and criminal jury trials suspended indefinitely.

Central District of Illinois: Civil and criminal jury trials suspended and shall be reset for a date after January 25, 2021.

Southern District of Illinois: Civil and criminal jury trials set through January 24, 2021 are cancelled and will be reset.

Northern District of Indiana: All jury trials scheduled to begin before January 29, 2021, are continued and will be rescheduled by the presiding judge “unless the presiding judge, in their discretion, determines on a case-by-case basis that a trial should proceed as scheduled.”

Southern District of Indiana: All “in person jury trials “are continued until at least January 25, 2021. “Jury trials conducted by video teleconference” may proceed upon motion and/or Order of the presiding judge.

District of Kansas: All criminal and civil jury trials are suspended until January 4, 2021.

Eastern District of Kentucky: Civil and criminal jury trials set through January 15, 2021 are “continued generally.” However, “any judge may, in his or her discretion, determine that the need to conduct a jury trial during this period outweighs the public health concerns addressed herein.”

Western District of Kentucky: No jury trial shall be scheduled to begin before January 3, 2021.

District of Maryland: All in-court proceedings are suspended.

District of Minnesota: All criminal and civil jury trials set for 2020 are continued. All “civil jury trial-specific deadlines” are also continued. Trial judges may approve exceptions.

Western District of Missouri: All criminal and civil jury trials set before January 4, 2021 are continued,

District of Nebraska: All civil and criminal jury trials set on or before December 1, 2020 are continued.

District of Nevada: All jury trials are postponed pending further notice.

Northern District of Oklahoma: All civil trials (the order does not distinguish between jury and bench trials) through November 30, 2020 are continued, but all other scheduling order deadlines remain in effect.

Western District of Pennsylvania: All civil and criminal trials scheduled to begin before February 8, 2021 are continued. “Notwithstanding the above, the Court intends on an initial basis to conduct one or more civil jury trials in each Division of the Court at one or more junctures occurring during the period of November 2020 through January 2021 in order to facilitate and assess the safe and effective implementation of operational protocols for jury trial operations. Such civil jury trials will be scheduled by the presiding judicial officer after consultation with the undersigned and shall not involve any detained participants.”

Western District of Texas: All civil and criminal jury trials set before November 30, 2020 are continued. However, divisions may opt out. (All eyes are on the Waco Division.)

District of Utah: All civil and criminal jury trials are continued through February 1, 2021.

Eastern District of Virginia: Civil jury trials are suspended indefinitely. No criminal jury trials will be held before January 19, 2021.

Eastern District of Washington: Civil and criminal jury trials are suspended for the rest of 2020.

Western District of Wisconsin: Civil and criminal jury trials are suspended through January 31, 2021.



Minnesota Resumes Federal Trials, but Are They Safe?

By on Sep 24, 2020
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The US District Court for the District of Minnesota resumed federal trials this week, with a civil bench trial and a criminal jury trial. Mask and sterilization procedures were followed. The lawyers had headphones that they could use to speak with each other and to replace sidebars. The jury trial is a short, single-defendant trial, and the case is set to go to the jury today. The resumption of jury trials in the district is not without controversy, however. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports:

Not all experts agree it is safe enough, noting that barriers and masks can block larger droplets produced by coughing but are not as useful in stopping the spread of smaller particles that circulate from breathing and talking.

 

Dr. Lisa M. Brosseau, an industrial hygienist at the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said there still should be no jury trials.

 

“People should not be spending a lot of time in a room, even with barriers, even with face coverings, even if they are separated by six feet,” she said. “The danger is the concentration of particles within the room will increase over time.”

Civil jury trials have not resumed in Minnesota, in either federal or state court.



 McDermott’s litigation team monitors US courts as they reopen amid the ongoing COVID-19 public health crisis.

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Michael S. Nadel

Jennifer B. Routh

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