Marion County jury trials delayed again after more court staff test positive for COVID-19

Update: On Jan. 20, Marion County courts announced that jury trials would be delayed once more. The announcement said jury trials would resume "with a phased in approach" starting Jan. 31. Approximately 90 court staff, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, have tested positive for the virus since Jan. 3.

Marion County courts are once again putting a hold on jury trials after a wave of court staff tested positive for COVID-19.

All jury trials in the county will be delayed and reset to dates after Jan. 21, 2022, according to a Thursday press release by the Executive Committee of the Marion Superior Court and the Judge of the Circuit Court.

The use of face coverings will be "strictly enforced" and limits will be placed on occupancy capacity throughout the courthouse.

Nearly 40 court staff members, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, have tested positive for the virus since Monday. The courts employ about 500 people.

Judges also pointed to Marion County's positivity rate of 35.45 percent, which places it in the "high risk" category.

"We will continue to monitor the status of the local health conditions and update our operations based upon those conditions in the future," the news release states.

Jury trials were previously put on hold in late 2020 but started again in March 2021.

Call IndyStar courts reporter Johnny Magdaleno at 317-273-3188 or email him at jmagdaleno@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @IndyStarJohnny

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Marion County delays trials again after more staff contract COVID