Judges make adjustments as trials resume in some courts

TRAVERSE CITY (AP) — Jurors are going back to school in a northern Michigan county as judges try to get trials going again after a timeout during the coronavirus pandemic.

In Grand Traverse County, a civil trial in an auto negligence case will start today. To comply with distancing requirements, jury selection will be held in the auditorium at Traverse City Central High School. The trial will then shift to a regular courtroom.

“We’re hearing this is going to be one of the first jury trials since COVID, if not the first,” said Judge Kevin Elsenheimer.

A criminal trial next week will follow the same procedures, he said.

“When students return, we’ll have to think of another solution or hopefully begin normal operations of the court,” Elsenheimer said.

During the trials in Traverse City, jurors will sit in the jury box and the spectator gallery. The public can watch by video in a separate room or possibly on YouTube.