The Supreme Court and the County Court (the Courts) have announced the postponement of their planned recommencement of criminal jury trials, originally scheduled to being again later this month.
In a joint statement the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Anne Ferguson and Chief Justice of the County Court, Peter Kidd said the postponement was due to the recent spike in COVID-19 cases across Victoria.
“The decision to postpone resumption has been taken in light of public health advice and in the best interests of the Victorian community,” the Chief Justice’s said
“We are conscious of the impact of this decision and will continue the work to ensure that everything necessary is in place for the resumption of criminal jury trials as soon as it is appropriate to do so,” they said.
“We thank all of those who have been contributing to those preparations across government and the profession.”
The Chief Justice’s said people summonsed for jury service would be notified and the Courts would contact parties in the cases that were scheduled to proceed in coming weeks.
“The Courts are currently working on identifying a proposed recommencement date and further advice will be provided as soon as possible,” they said.
“The Courts will continue to use technology to conduct a range of hearings and will take active steps to ensure all the criminal work that can be progressed is progressed to minimise the backlog,” the Chief Justice’s said.
