After a Hall County Superior Court judge canceled trial proceedings in her courtroom last week, one court official said proceedings are now back on track.
Chief Judge Kathlene Gosselin made the decision on Tuesday, March 30, to delay proceedings in her courtroom for the rest of the week after learning that someone who reported for jury duty on March 29 had tested positive for COVID-19.
Jason Stephenson, court administrator for the Northeastern Judicial Circuit, said to his knowledge, no other courtroom staff or jurors tested positive for COVID-19 following the delay.
“We knew this was a distinct possibility when we started going with trials … all of these protocols that we have put in place were with the expectation that we could run into a situation like this,” Stephenson said. “It was a temporary delay.”
Stephenson said Judge Jason Deal was able to continue with a second trial in his courtroom during the delay, as his juror pool had not been exposed to the individual who tested positive for COVID-19.
Protocols and safety procedures for COVID-19 had already been established in the Northeastern Judicial Circuit, such as social distancing and mask mandates.
Court staff gives selected jurors the proper phone number to call if they begin to develop symptoms of COVID-19, Stephenson said. He urged any potential jurors who develop symptoms of COVID-19 to stay home and contact court staff.
The amount of people reporting for jury duty has stayed strong, even during the pandemic, Stephenson said.
“Surprisingly, the response rate has been better than pre-pandemic,” Stephenson said. “I think a lot of that has been a ton of outreach by our clerk’s office and by our court administration office to communicate with jurors about how important they are and how we need them here.”
Stephenson said court staff also recently went through a vaccine clinic, and staff who received their vaccine at the clinic will receive their second dose this coming week.
