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The Contra Costa County Superior Court announced an extension of its jury trial suspension, which was set to end today, meaning that new jury trials will continue to be suspended for an additional week, through Feb. 4.
“The Court hopes to resume full operations on February 7, 2022, but the current risk of continued exposure and spread of the new COVID-19 variant continues to be too great for those who work for or at the Court, access court facilities, and appear in courtrooms (including those who are detained in county jail or live in congregant care facilities),” the announcement from the court stated.
The court’s announcement cites an uptick in COVID infections and required isolation and quarantine measures “among court personnel, attorneys, litigants and other court users” as the reason for the suspension of jury trials that went into effect in late December.
The original suspension of jury trials, and the extension, do not affect trials that were already underway as of Dec. 27, the day the suspension went into effect, according to court officials.
The new announcement means that court officials are now hoping to resume full operations by Feb. 7, rather than this Monday (Jan. 31), but cites a current risk of the spread of COVID-19 that “continues to be too great for those who work for or at the Court, access court facilities, and appear in courtrooms (including those who are detained in county jail or live in congregant care facilities).”
Despite the extended suspension of jury trials, all other court operations are set to continue without interruptions, according to the court announcement.
