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RALEIGH – Chief Justice Cheri Beasley has issued new emergency directives in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that require the wearing of face coverings inside county courthouses and planning for the resumption of jury trials.
“I have issued several emergency directives calculated to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in North Carolina's communities,” said Chief Justice Beasley. “Consistent with the Governor’s recommendations and the clear guidance of public health experts, requiring face coverings in courthouses is necessary to keep our courts open while protecting court personnel and the public.”
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Chief Justice Beasley announced that jury trials in North Carolina courts will be delayed through at least September, and has directed senior resident superior court judges to develop comprehensive plans for the eventual safe resumption of jury trials in their districts. Each Jury Trial Resumption Plan must ensure that all court operations are in compliance with each of the Chief Justice’s emergency directives and must be informed by the Best Safety Practices distributed by the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts.
Each Jury Trial Resumption Plan must include:
- A confirmation that each court facility and any alternate facility to be used for court operations is in compliance with each of the Chief Justice’s emergency orders in response to the COVID-19 outbreak;
- A plan for summoning and excusing jurors, which allows for as much of the process to be handled remotely as possible;
- A plan for conducting voir dire with social distancing;
- A plan for conducting trials with social distancing in the courtroom for all court participants, including the jury, and in the deliberation room;
- A plan for daily screening of jurors, court personnel, attorneys, witnesses, and parties for COVID-19 exposure or infection;
- A plan for making face coverings available to jurors, court personnel, attorneys, witnesses, and parties;
- A plan for responding in the event that a juror, defendant, attorney, witness, judge, or other courtroom personnel becomes symptomatic, tests positive for COVID-19, or has a known exposure to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 during the trial.
Each Jury Trial Resumption Plan must be approved by the following officials in the county:
- The chief district court judge;
- The clerk of superior court;
- The district attorney;
- The public defender, or a criminal defense attorney chosen by the senior resident superior court judge in districts without a public defender;
- The sheriff; and
- The public health director.
