Jury trials in Jackson County suspended for 2 weeks as COVID-19 surges in Kansas City
Jury trials in Jackson County have been suspended for the next two weeks as the omicron variant of COVID-19 continues to surge in the Kansas City region.
Presiding Judge J. Dale Youngs issued the order suspending jury trials for the weeks of Jan. 10 and Jan. 18, writing that the surge has increased “the area’s number of positive COVID-19 cases, positivity rates, hospitalizations and deaths, among not only citizens served by this Court, but members of the Court’s staff and their families, and detainees of the Jackson County Detention Center.”
The move was made to reduce the number of people assembling in confined spaces. Jury trials that had been set to start in the next two weeks will be rescheduled, according to Youngs’ order.
Other proceedings, such as bench trials, may continue. The Jackson County Courthouse remains open, a spokesperson said.
Jury trials in the St. Louis region have also been postponed because of the spike in COVID-19 infections.
Last week, the seven-day average of new confirmed COVID-19 infections across the Kansas City metro area hit an all time high, with 14,839 new cases reported in the previous week. The surge has affected a host of industries, leaving hospital employees and first responders across the region grappling with staffing shortages.
This story was originally published January 10, 2022 at 11:38 AM.
