Jury Trials Delayed until August 10

For Immediate Release

July 21, 2020

SUPERIOR COURT JURY TRIALS DELAYED UNTIL AUGUST 10, 2020

The Superior Court Judges in consultation with local public health officials have decided to delay the start of jury trials until at least August 10, 2020.Court staff have and will continue to do all they can to create the safest possible environment for our jurors and parties appearing before the Court.Jury trials and nearly all public, in-person court activities were put on hold in April by order of the state Supreme Court to protect the public health and safety. Cowlitz County's last jury trial was held on March 10, 2020.

On July 7, 2020, the Cowlitz County Superior Court announced the resumption of jury trials, but in light of the recent spike in COVID-19 cases, Superior Court judges feel it is critical to take a pause in the resumption of jury trials.

"While providing due process to defendants involved in our system of justice is absolutely critical, it cannot be done at the expense of public health.Our collective health and welfare is paramount to us.We will review the data in the next two weeks to decide when jury trials should resume.When jury trials will resume will be decided by science and input from our public health community.Until such time, we will continue to provide virtual access to our courts and continue the planning necessary to provide potential jurors the safest environment to perform jury duty", said the Honorable Gary Bashor, Presiding Superior Court Judge.

The Superior Court would like to thank all members of our community for their patience as we work to resume normal operations.Your commitment to our jury system is vital to the health of our justice system.

For more information about the Cowlitz County Superior Court, please visit our website at:https://cowlitzsuperiorcourt.us/ 

Chadwick M. Connors - Court Administrator - 360-577-3085 - connorsc@co.cowlitz.wa.us