Jury trials resume next week at Sacramento Superior Court. Here’s what you need to know
Jury trials will return to Sacramento courtrooms Monday, Sacramento Superior Court officials announced Thursday in the latest thawing of court operations that were shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The first criminal jury trial will begin Tuesday, court officials said.
Jury trials were shut down in Sacramento on March 20 – one day after Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a statewide shelter-in-place order – as courts across California were halted to shield against COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus. On Monday, jurors will reconvene with new demands and new policies in place at Sacramento downtown courthouse. Sacramento Superior Court has also released videos on YouTube in English and Spanish.
Fewer jurors, face masks and temperature screenings are among the highlights Sacramento Superior Court officials rolled out Thursday while asking for the public’s help.
“The Court cannot provide jury trials without the participation of citizens,” court officials said in a statement. “With our plan for safe access to the justice system, the Court is ready to safely welcome this critical part of the justice system back into our courtrooms.”
Anyone who is sick or feels sick is asked to stay home.
Court officials say they are “significantly reducing” the numbers of jurors asked to report at one time to Gordon Schaber Courthouse’s second-floor jury assembly and say jurors’ arrival times will be staggered.
Floor and seat guides will reinforce physical distancing. Elevators will be limited to two people per car and routine cleaning will be stepped up in courtrooms, elevators, jury assembly rooms and restrooms.
Face coverings will be required of all court employees inside the courthouse and temperature screenings, mandated in May for court personnel and others doing business in the county’s courthouses, will be extended Monday.
Anyone entering a court facility will have their temperature scanned. Those with a temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher will not be allowed to enter.
Superior Court officials are making the accommodations in a downtown building they have long derided as outdated, overcrowded and unsafe. Plans for a new 53-courtroom building in the Railyards at Sixth and G streets continue.
The courthouse guidance will be outlined in jury summons. More information can be found at www.saccourt.ca.gov and selecting “Info Centers” or by calling jury services at 916-874-7775.
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