We return now to Judge Amos Mazzant’s federal courtroom in Sherman, Texas. COVID-19 caused a mistrial last year, when jurors, lawyers and court staff become infected mid-trial. We covered it, most recently, here.
Judge Mazzant has reset the jury trial for March 8, 2021. The trial date will either represent a return to normalcy or misplaced optimism.
Time will tell. If it occurs, the two-week trial will overlap with the anniversary of the national shutdown.
As we’ve covered in several posts below, a trial fell apart in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Sherman earlier this month, with jurors, attorneys and court staff all contracting COVID-19 (at least 13 people in total) and others now in quarantine. The question now is: What lesson will other judges take from what happened in Judge Amos Mazzant’s courtroom?
We may soon find out. Citing Judge Mazzant’s trial and the rising level of cases in Texas and across the country, defendants with December patent infringement trials in Marshall are seeking continuances. Their papers are here and here and also embedded below:
These briefs will be useful for any litigants seeking continuances right now.
An update on our last item. After a federal jury trial in Sherman was shut down due to multiple participants (including a lawyer and a jury member) being diagnosed with COVID-19, the court held a telephone hearing on Friday afternoon and then issued the following minute entry:
Parties agree to proceed with trial on 11/30 assuming no jury concerns or issues. Court will verify the current CDC guideline and protocol and make sure that all counsel, staff, and jurors abide by that guideline prior to resuming trial. Parties agree to proceed with initial charge conference on 11/17/2020 by telephone with final conference by 11/20/2020. Upon resuming on 11/30/2020 the Court will allow each side a brief 10 minute summary due to trial delay.
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