HONOLULU — Hawai‘i Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark E. Recktenwald ordered that jury trials across the state be postponed through Oct. 4, in response to the recent surge of COVID-19 cases in the community.
HONOLULU — Hawai‘i Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark E. Recktenwald ordered that jury trials across the state be postponed through Oct. 4, in response to the recent surge of COVID-19 cases in the community.
“With the record numbers of positive cases and rapidly increasing hospitalizations being reported in our community, we believe it’s prudent to take additional precautions to reduce the number of people congregating in Judiciary facilities to protect court users and our staff,” Recktenwald said in a release.
The Judiciary has implemented detailed plans to safeguard the health and safety of jurors, court staff, attorneys, litigants and all involved since the resumption of jury trials last November.
These plans were reviewed by the state Department of Health, and included health screening, temperature checks, reconfigured courtrooms to ensure social distancing, Plexiglass barriers, and providing hand sanitizer, masks and face shields.
The order issued this week includes civil-, criminal- and family-court proceedings, but affects only jury trials. All other court proceedings — many of which are conducted remotely by Zoom — are being held as scheduled.
