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BELLEFONTE -- The Centre County Courts will reinstitute full operations with the resumption of jury selection and trials in late summer. Jury trials were suspended in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jury selection, which typically takes place at the Centre County Courthouse, will be held in the President's Hall at the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center. President's Hall will be divided in to two rooms, with approximately 65 prospective jurors in each 5,000-square-foot room, allowing for ample social distancing. Additional sanitization processes will be implemented, including cleaning of chairs and other surfaces, per Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines. Masks will be mandatory for all involved in the selection process.
Jurors will be summoned for either the morning or afternoon session, and will be dismissed as soon as possible after the selection process concludes.
A local task force and a separate statewide committee have studied the ways to make trials and selection as safe as possible while conforming to CDC and Department of Health (DOH) guidelines, as well as the law.
"This is a great example of the type of partnerships and collaborations that are happening throughout our Centre County community in the face of the pandemic. The commissioners are dedicated to finding innovative ways to keep the criminal justice system moving forward during COVID-19," said Commissioner Michael Pipe. "In addition, this is coming at no cost to taxpayers through an in-kind agreement between the University and the county."
All trials will be held in Courtroom 1, the largest courtroom, with jurors socially distanced by being seated throughout the courtroom, rather than in the jury box. All deliberations will take place in the courtroom itself to allow social distancing throughout the process. A person accused of a crime has a right to a speedy and prompt trial, and a crime victim has a right to speedy justice.
"These individuals' rights are not suspended because of the pandemic," said President Judge Pamela A. Ruest. "We are committed to resuming the jury selection and trial process as safely as possible, while conforming to all legal requirements, including those outlined in the Pennsylvania and U.S. constitutions."
The Centre County Courts thank potential jurors in advance for their participation. Jury summons are being mailed in mid-July.