Jury trials to resume in July for Spokane County

Spokane County Superior, District and Municipal courts will resume jury trials in July after trials were canceled in March due to COVID-19.

Extensive safety measures have been implemented, according to a Spokane County statement on Monday.

Jury summons and juror information have been mailed with the first potential trials scheduled for the week of July 6, the release says.

Nearly all in-person court appearances and activities were put on hold in March by a Washington State Supreme Court order. The Supreme Court order allows trials to resume on July 6.

“The suspension of jury trials was needed to protect the health of court users and court staff, and it provided us the opportunity to redesign our jury process with the input of public health officials. Now it is critical that we re-start jury trials, which are key to the fair administration of justice,” the presiding judges of the three Spokane courts, Harold Clarke, Jeffery Smith and Matthew Antush, wrote in a joint statement.

Social distancing, face coverings and routine cleaning are part of the safety precautions implemented by the courts.

The federal courthouse in Spokane reopened on June 1, however jury trials are not set to resume until after July 31.