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Law360 (August 12, 2020, 6:04 PM EDT) -- Georgia's statewide judicial emergency in response to the coronavirus pandemic was extended for a fifth time Tuesday by Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Harold D. Melton, who nevertheless warned that his ban on jury proceedings will soon have to be lifted even if the health crisis continues.
Justice Melton, the chair of Georgia's judicial council, extended the judicial emergency, which was due to expire just before midnight Tuesday, for another month — until the same time on Sept. 10. He kept in place the instructions of his previous orders for all Georgia courts to conduct remotely as much of their operations as possible, with the option to safely accommodate some in-person proceedings under federal health guidelines if necessary.
When starting to draft the newest order of emergency in late July, Justice Melton had earlier expressed a desire to lift the ban on jury proceedings. But he walked back that plan during a council session on Aug. 3, citing the state's high infection rate and low comfort level among court staff and participants for in-person events.
In extending the judicial emergency Tuesday, Justice Melton said a resumption of jury proceedings is on the horizon and something the judicial council's coronavirus task force is preparing for.
"This broad prohibition cannot last too much longer, even if the pandemic continues, because the judicial system, and the criminal justice system in particular, must have some capacity to resolve cases by indictment and trial," Justice Melton said in his order. "Accordingly, the Judicial COVID-19 Task Force is focusing on how grand jury and jury trial proceedings could safely be conducted even where levels of COVID-19 are high, including the possibility of conducting grand jury proceedings and jury selection remotely."
Justice Melton first declared a monthlong statewide judicial emergency in Georgia on March 14 and has extended it each month since, with slight modifications and more detailed guidelines for how courts should operate.
Throughout the emergency, Georgia courts have been instructed to prioritize essential services such as criminal warrants and juvenile custody proceedings, and conduct all activities remotely where possible to minimize the anticipated post-pandemic backlog. Jury selection and trials have been suspended and case deadlines tolled.
Justice Melton last month reimposed some case deadlines for litigants in an effort to return to more robust court operations by allowing more pending and newly filed cases to move forward. That has not changed in his new order, which includes guidelines for calculating litigants' deadlines. Deadlines on courts themselves remain suspended.
The state's judicial council is set to meet via video conference Friday to discuss its regular agenda, including potential new judgeships.
--Editing by Alanna Weissman.
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