COVID-19 Update: Jury Availability Scheduled Through August

Thursday, April 22, 2021Trial Court

The Office of Jury Commissioner, in consultation with the chief justices of the court departments that conduct jury trials, has published schedules for jury availability at court locations across the state through August.
 
Trials will be conducted at 14 locations in May, and that number will expand in June to include additional courthouses and off-site locations. Court departments will collaborate at the local level to coordinate use of these locations for trials. 
 
Off-site jury locations were established in areas where a courthouse does not meet CDC COVID occupancy limitations, including at Lombardo's in Norfolk County. Efforts to establish additional off-site locations continue. Sites in Springfield at the Eastfield Mall and in Hyannis at the Cape Codder should be completed next week, once audio recording equipment for FTR is installed. Sites in Pittsfield and Greenfield are ready for use.
 
In Boston, the Superior Court is coordinating with the federal court regarding use of Moakley Courthouse for trials and deliberation. Jurors will be summoned to appear for impanelment in the jury pool room at the Suffolk Superior Courthouse.  
 
Judges, court staff, attorneys, and all persons present must continue to wear masks within any court location when in the company of others. The only exception is during a trial when a witness is allowed to remove a mask while in the witness box, if plexiglass and an air filtration device are in place. Face shields are not an acceptable substitute for masks.