Page 23 - CLT120720

NEWS DECEMBER 7, 2020 ¦ 23

Come Back in 2021: All Connecticut State
and Federal Jury Trials Postponed

By Robert Storace

As the uptick of COVID-19 Underhill said that Bromage, a
cases in Connecticut grows biology professor who has a doctor-
and the number of deaths in ate in microbiology and immunology,
the state surpasses 5,000 people, ad- “thought we should not have jury trials
ministrators in both state and federal during December and January. He af-
courts announced this week a pause firmed the position we took.”
in both criminal and civil jury trials. Underhill said there have been a
Chief Court Administrator Patrick handful of confirmed COVID-19 cas-
Carroll III said state criminal and jury es since March at the state’s three fed-
trials, which were supposed to re- eral courthouses in Hartford, Bridge-
sume Nov. 2, have been pushed back port and New Haven.
to at least Dec. 31. U.S. District Judge Stefan “Anytime there is a positive case
Underhill for the District of
And, on the federal side, Chief Connecticut. Courtesy photo there is a thorough cleaning of the
Judge Stefan Underhill of the U.S. Dis- courthouse. Our concerns are for the
trict Court for the District of Connecticut, announced safety of our employees and visitors. When someone
Thursday jury trials for both criminal and civil matters in the courthouse tests positive, we take immediate
would be pushed back to Feb. 1, 2021. action. I recently closed the Hartford courthouse for
In an interview Friday, Underhill said the decision was a day after a positive test so the courthouse could be
made earlier this week after talking with health experts. thoroughly cleaned,” Underhill said.
“Principally, the numbers are still high. And ev- The chief judge said when jury trials resume there
eryone has predicted there would be a jump in the will be preference made to criminal jury trials.
numbers following Thanksgiving. Our experts recom- “The priority will be given to short criminal trials
mended we not conduct court proceedings the week and people in detention,” Underhill said.
after Thanksgiving. Then, we are jumping into the De- Underhill said most attorneys are understanding of
cember holidays, which will have a similar impact on the limitations the coronavirus has played on the courts.
the numbers,” Underhill said. “We are not getting a lot of pushback from attorneys.
While most federal jury selections have been on The lawyers recognize the vital importance of doing
hold since March, Underhill said he’s hopeful they can this safely. Many lawyers themselves are in high-risk
finally take place in February, without further delay. groups and a lot of them are over 60 and have health
“I’ve read that President-elect [Joe] Biden will ask conditions. They are not banging on the doors, at
people to wear masks for 100 days. If there is a signifi- least yet,” Underhill said.
cant compliance with that coupled with the govern- As of late Thursday, the office of the governor an-
ment’s efforts to minimize the size of gatherings and nounced the state had recorded 126,177 cases of the
the vaccine to be rolled out in 2021, then there’s hope coronavirus and 5,111 deaths.
for jury trials in early 2021,” Underhill said. ¦

Underhill said he, along with judicial officials in Robert Storace covers legal trends, lawsuits and
several northeastern states, spoke for one hour Friday analysis for the Connecticut Law Tribune. Follow
morning via phone with Erin Bromage of the Univer- him on Twitter @RobertSCTLaw or reach him at
sity of Massachusetts at Dartmouth. 203-437-5950.

CONNECTICUT
Law Tribune