Jury trials suspended

CASPER – The rise in coronavirus infections prompted Wyoming’s chief justice on Friday to suspend jury trials until further notice.

The COVID-19 surge had caused some courts to fully or partially shut down, according to a statement released Friday by the Wyoming Supreme Court.

Courts have also experienced difficulties finding enough jurors.

Those realities prompted Chief Justice Michael K. Davis to order a halt to jury trials for the time being.

“The Court is therefore implementing measures to protect the health of the public and court personnel throughout Wyoming, while still permitting essential functions to proceed in a timely manner,” the statement reads.

Jury trials had restarted in Wyoming in August after being suspended this spring when the virus first emerged here. At the time of the restart, cases were rising at a much slower rate.

But infections began to spike in mid-September and have surged at unprecedented rates in October and November.

The announcement came on the same day that Wyoming hit an all-time high for hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients and Gov. Mark Gordon hinted at a press conference that new restrictions may be coming to address the public health crisis.

The state also set new highs this month for virus-related deaths.

Davis’ order does not halt other court proceedings. Many of those are being handled by video conferencing or telephone.

Other court hearings will continue to be held in person including proceedings related to emergency child protection, the COVID-19 public health emergency and protection orders.

Other government institutions in Wyoming have begun to make changes due to the rise in cases. Some state buildings closed earlier this month after workers tested positive, prompting a round of deep cleaning.

Meanwhile, the city of Laramie closed most of its buildings to the public due to spiking cases in Albany County.