Masks now will be required in NC courts while delay of jury trials is extended

Masks will now be required in courthouses and jury trials will be delayed at least until the end of September while local officials develop safety plans, Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley announced Thursday.

Beasley’s order also extends the hold on jury trials for at least another month.

Beasley announced in May that jury trials would be postponed through August in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Many court hearings have been held via teleconference. Even with reduced in-person interactions, dozens of court personnel have become infected with the coronavirus since June, Beasley said in a Thursday news conference.

“Just last week, courts in five counties had to be closed after a known exposure to the virus, and sessions of court in several other counties also had to be canceled,” she said.

Courthouse employees in Wake and Durham have tested positive for COVID-19, The News & Observer reported.

Gov. Roy Cooper’s mandate for public mask wearing exempted the court system, Beasley said.

But more than half of the nation’s court systems require masks, according to the National Center for State Courts. And they are needed in North Carolina courts to improve safety for workers, she said.

Masks will be provided to people who cannot afford them, Beasley said.

COVID-19 hospitalizations in North Carolina are recording records almost daily. Infections are trending up, and public health and crisis experts have determined that the virus is spreading uncontrolled in the state.

Senior resident superior court judges, local court officials, county sheriffs, local public health directors must come up with plans to safely resume jury trials, Beasley said.

“I remain deeply concerned about the continuing risk of exposure in our court facilities, and about the public’s willingness to serve on a jury as we continue to see cases of COVID-19 increase in North Carolina,” she said.

“If we are to ensure that the available jury pool represents a fair cross-section of the local community, the public must be confident that they can safely participate as a member of the jury,” she said.

This story was originally published July 16, 2020 at 12:05 PM.