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 The Orders are available on the Court website by
clicking
here.
“The Task Force continues to find ways to help the courts adapt
during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Chief Justice Anne M. Burke said.
“The Supreme Court greatly appreciates the work they have done and
continue to do.”
The Order on Remote Jury Selection in Civil Matters is in regards to
remote jury selection in civil matters and is an expansion of the
changes made to Rule 45 and Rule 251 in May. Most civil jury trials
have been on hold during the pandemic and the pool of jurors
available for selection and service has decreased due to the health
and economic impacts of the pandemic. After months of research,
discussion, and a mock remote jury selection conducted by the 19th
Judicial Circuit, the Task Force’s subcommittee developed a proposal
which permits circuits to conduct jury selection in civil cases via
video conference.
The Order addresses jury selection in civil cases and does not
address any other part of the jury trial (presentation of evidence
or jury deliberations) or whether this method of questioning
potential jurors is permissible in criminal jury trials. The order
allows for a flexible approach to implementing remote jury
selection, affording individual circuits discretion to determine if
it is an appropriate tool based on each circuit’s local conditions
and constraints.
In addition to the Order, Guidelines and Supporting Documents for
Remote Jury Selection recommended by the Task Force were also
approved by the Supreme Court. They can be found
here.
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The Order on Remote Service in Protective Order Proceedings permits
remote service of process of the protective order or personal
service of the protective order on a respondent so long as the
operative terms of the protective order are read to the respondent
in open court during the remote court appearance.
Before the pandemic, respondents who appeared in person at a court
date would often be served with protective orders in open court.
This allowed protective order cases to proceed and created a
record of service on the respondent of the protective order in case
of future violations. But with many court proceedings, including
protective order and traffic cases, being heard remotely, courts
have been unsure how to handle service on respondents who appear
remotely.
The Order directs the Clerk of the Circuit Court to take appropriate
action once remote service has been achieved so that the necessary
authorities are properly updated. The Task Force worked with
domestic violence advocates to craft the language of the order.
[Text from file received from
]
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