In an order issued Tuesday afternoon, Cobb Superior Court Chief Judge Robert Leonard announced he is restarting plans to bring back jury trials in Cobb County.
Leonard’s order states court officials should prepare to bring jurors in beginning with the week of April 19. The order also voids his previous instructions, dating from Dec. 22, paring the court’s proceedings down to essential functions only.
Leonard, who discussed his reopening plans with the MDJ last month, cites in the new order the declining COVID-19 case numbers in Cobb County as part of his rationale to resume jury trials.
Leonard wrote in the new order, “The undersigned acknowledges that not all courts have the capabilities to stand up a totally virtual court and that certain classes of cases cannot be adequately handled in a virtual format. The undersigned has monitored the COVID-19 infection rates in our community, and it appears that those rates have dropped back down to the levels they were at before Thanksgiving.”
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