Miami jury trials paused for two weeks as COVID surge hits legal system
As COVID cases surge in South Florida, courts in Miami-Dade county have paused jury trials through Dec. 31.
“While we always suspend jury pool during the holidays, with the exception of specially set court proceedings, in an abundance of caution we have called off all jurors until after the holidays,” court spokeswoman Eunice Sigler said Tuesday in a statement.
“Pursuant to the current Miami-Dade County and Florida Supreme Court directives, we may not impose mask mandates; however, we continue to strongly encourage the wearing of masks at all Miami-Dade Courthouses when individuals are in confined spaces with others.”
The pause, which took effect on Monday, comes as Miami-Dade’s criminal justice system is dealing with outbreaks amid the surge in the highly contagious omicron variant of the coronavirus.
The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office has reported 37 employees who have tested positive for COVID since Dec. 13. The Public Defender’s Office has reported 18 positive cases since Dec. 15.
The decision was made “based on the rising number of COVID cases,” Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Andrea Ricker Wolfson, the chief administrative judge in the criminal division, wrote in an email Sunday to high-ranking officials in the local justice system. “Thank you and please stay safe.”
It was not immediately clear whether jury trials in Miami-Dade civil court will be affected. As of Tuesday morning, the 11th Judicial Circuit had not made any announcements about updated safety protocols. The impact of the decision will likely be limited — December is generally slow for trials anyway because of the holidays.
Across Florida, in-person court hearings were largely stopped in March 2020 as the threat of the coronavirus spread. Florida courts turned to virtual hearings, but in-person hearings — with mask mandates and social distancing requirements — started resuming earlier this year as COVID numbers waned and more people got vaccinated.
By November, citing improved COVID conditions and widespread vaccine availability, Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Canaday lifted mask requirements for court hearings.
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava last month also lifted indoor mask mandates in county government buildings, citing the low positivity rate after the summer’s delta variant surge. Shortly after, Miami-Dade Chief Judge Nushin Sayfie also lifted indoor mask requirements in courts, which are county-run buildings.
Judges, attorneys, jurors and court staffers are still allowed to wear masks, and some have during recent Miami trials.
This story was originally published December 21, 2021 at 10:02 AM.