Client Advisory: District of Columbia Superior Court to Resume Jury Trials

The D.C. Superior Court is planning to resume jury trials on March 22, 2021, nearly one year after they were suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.  As safety measures, the Court reportedly has added plexiglass partitions to the jury boxes, and court officials plan to space out seats in the jury boxes and the gallery for social distancing. The court will limit the number of jury trials it holds per week and reduce the number of jurors summoned for jury selection.

The suspension of jury trials last year resulted in a large backlog of cases.  Criminal cases concerning incarcerated defendants will be given priority.  At the moment, it is not clear when civil cases can expect to be heard.

Questions regarding this advisory can be directed to Nicholas Schaufelberger, an associate in TT&H’s Washington, DC office, at (202) 945-9502 or nschaufelberger@tthlaw.com.  Thomas, Thomas & Hafer, LLP is a regional civil litigation firm with over 80 lawyers in ten offices throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.