If you get a jury summons or have other reasons to interact with your county courthouse, you might wonder how that looks with pandemic protocols in place.
Liz Rambo is Trial Court Administrator for Lane County Circuit Court.
She says courts have been open for business during the coronavirus shutdown. She says court proceedings are conducted remotely by phone or video conference. Rambo says they have not had a jury trial in Lane County court since the governor’s stay at home order.
“So these are the only trials that we would anticipate doing are those jury trials that are required by our statutes and our Oregon Constitution.” Rambo says.
If there is a jury trial, the jurors will be kept at a 6 foot distance from each other and provided with masks and hand sanitizer. Proceedings will take place in a courtroom, with spectators watching on closed-circuit TV in another. A third courtroom will be used for deliberation. Meanwhile, Oregon’s judicial branch faces looming budget cuts with the economic devastation left by the pandemic.