Westmoreland courts to resume jury trials in August

Jury trials in Westmoreland County will resume in August with a little help from a neighbor.

The Palace Theatre in Greensburg will serve as an alternate site to host jury selection for cases assigned to some of the smaller courtrooms where social distancing cannot be accommodated, Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court President Judge Rita Hathaway said on Tuesday.

Jury trials have been on hiatus since early March, when courts across Pennsylvania suspended routine work amid the coronavirus outbreak. Westmoreland resumed most court functions this month but delayed the start of jury trials as officials worked out logistics associated with social distancing requirements.

“Obviously, we need to resume jury trials and we also want the public to be confident and know we want to keep them safe,” Hathaway said. “We’ve been thinking about this for months.”

Court officials last week toured The Palace, across Otterman Street from the courthouse, as one of the final steps in the plan to restart trials. The theater itself and an adjoining room that typically hosts social gatherings will be used for jury selection. Prospective jurors at the courthouse and theater will be required to wear masks and comply with social distancing.

Officials with the Westmoreland Cultural Trust, which operates The Palace, did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

Criminal trials will begin Aug. 3 in the two large courtrooms on the second floor of the courthouse, where crowds of more than 100 people can normally be accommodated. Officials said those courtrooms are large enough to hold as many as 50 prospective jurors as well as court staff and litigants while still adhering to social distancing rules. Those courtrooms have balconies that can be used for spectators.

Jurors called for trials on Aug. 4 will report to the Palace Theatre. Once those juries are seated, the trials will be moved to the courthouse.

Panelists will not be seated in traditional jury boxes as they hear evidence but will spread out in the courtroom to ensure that social distancing Deliberations are likely to be conducted in the courtroom behind locked doors, Hathaway said.

The four-month hiatus in jury trials has created a backlog of cases. Officials said 310 cases are scheduled for trials or pleas before the county’s four criminal court judges during the week-long August term.

Civil court trials are expected to begin in September, Hathaway said.

Westmoreland County Bar Association President Scott Avolio praised the plan to restart trials.

“It’s a necessary step to resume normalcy in the civil and criminal justice system. It’s good to hear we are moving forward in a safe manner,” Avolio said.