Thursday, April 18, 2024
As 355th District Court Judge Ralph Walton gears up to start jury trials again after an eight-month moratorium, the county’s maintenance department is working to modify his jury deliberation room to allow for social distancing.
The Commissioners Court approved the modifications last week.
Walton is hoping to seat a jury on Monday, Nov. 16. The same is true for county Court-at-Law Judge Vincent Messina.
Jury selection to serve both courts will take place in two sessions at the Lake Granbury Conference Center (LGCC) rather than in the Jury Selection Room at the Hood County Justice Center. The conference center is larger and more conducive to social distancing.
Jury trials have not been held in Hood County since March because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Once juries have been selected at the LGCC, though, the trials will take place at the Justice Center.
Modifications approved for the district court’s jury deliberation room will basically expand the room into a back hallway enabling the 12 jurors and alternate juror to maintain the recommended amount of physical distance.
An added wall in the hallway area will ensure the jurors’ privacy and block them from the secured door that leads to Walton’s suite of offices.
With the exception of the second door, the modifications can later be reversed if desired.
Riley said that during court proceedings in Walton’s courtroom jurors will be socially distanced in pews on the west side of the courtroom rather than in the jury box.
Others involved in the court proceedings will be seated in pews on the east side of the courtroom, he stated.
