Fresno County to halt new jury trials as coronavirus response. How long, when it starts
Fresno County Superior Court is suspending new civil and criminal jury trials until Jan. 11 as part of a statewide effort to slow the spread of COVID-19.
The courts new order, announced Thursday, said that all matters set for jury trial on the criminal master calendar will be continued for 20 days on a rolling basis from their currently set court date.
Any ongoing trials will continue at the discretion of the judges handling those cases.
Presiding Judge Arlan L. Harrell said felony arraignments and probation violations for out of custody defendants will continue. All other court matters, with the exception of jury trials, will continue using the remote hearing process.
Misdemeanor arraignments and probation violations cases will also continue.
Civil cases, including mandatory settlement conferences, trial readiness hearings and jury trials scheduled to happen between Friday, Dec. 11 through Monday, Jan. 11 will be rescheduled.
The new rule follows Gov. Gavin Newsom’s stay-at-home order that went into effect Monday. The governor and health officials are trying to slow the surge of new coronavirus cases around the state.
Fresno County is in the midst of a coronavirus surge that has seen an increase in positive cases and deaths and a decrease in ICU capacity. On Monday, the county’s 14-day average positivity rate was 10.4% and the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations was at 408.
On Tuesday, an emergency text alert was sent to residents in the San Joaquin Valley urging them to stay home because the virus is spreading rapidly.
Other Valley counties have also temporarily shut down jury trials. Tulare County halted all criminal and civil jury trials through Dec. 31.
This story was originally published December 8, 2020 at 5:46 PM.
