York County jury trials canceled; Juror’s family member tests positive for COVID
COVID-19 has again halted jury trials in York County -- before a trial even started.
And with limited court time available through the holiday season, a criminal trial in York County might not happen until 2021.
Jurors had been qualified Monday for a criminal trial at the Moss Justice Center in York. Angie Smarr, Deputy York County Clerk of Court said, after a break a juror told court officials a family member of the juror had tested positive for COVID-19.
The trial was postponed and jurors were sent home by South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Bill McKinnon, Smarr said.
“The judge dismissed all those people out of an abundance of caution and postponed the trial,” Smarr said. ‘Everyone was wearing masks and social distancing. This just came up during a break when the juror found out, and had to be addressed.”
COVID-19 cases have spiked in South Carolina in the past week to near the highest levels since the pandemic began. York County has had 8,235 confirmed or probable cases since the pandemic started. Court officials had planned to socially distance jurors and have plastic sheets around the witness stand and clerk of court station.
Trials scheduled for the rest of the week have been canceled, court officials said.
The cancellation of this week’s trials was done because the jury pool who reported for duty Monday possibly had contact with the juror whose family member tested positive, officials said. B.J. Barrowclough, 16th Circuit Public Defender, said the decision to cancel trials this week was the right measure to protect safety.
Criminal defendants have a right under the U.S. Constitution and S.C. Constitution to a jury trial. Pleas, bond hearings, and other non-jury matters will continue at the Moss center this week, Smarr said.
With only limited criminal court time scheduled in December, three days on Dec. 14-16, York County may not have another criminal jury trial until January, court officials said. The next trial week for York County is set for Jan. 4, 2021, according to the S.C. Court Administration schedule.
The criminal trials this week would have been the first in York County in eight months. Trials were halted in early March when the pandemic began.
The first civil trial scheduled since March set for the week of Nov. 9-14 at the York County Courthouse in downtown York has been postponed, officials said.
