Allegan and Ottawa County courts have suspended jury trials as COVID-19 case numbers in West Michigan continue to rise.
The Michigan Supreme Court s orders for conducting jury trials require the courts to meet certain public health criteria in order to hold jury trials. To be able to hold jury trials, the county must have a seven-day average of less than 70 COVID-19 cases per million per day and less than 10 percent positivity rate for COVID-19 tests.
The courts must work with the county health department to determine whether it would pose an excessive risk to public health to hold a trial. Jury trials are of particular concern because of the number of people that must be gathered, in-person, for jury selection, to sit as jurors throughout the trial and to deliberate on a verdict.