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Hopes of returning juries to criminal trials have been slashed as Victoria sees a major upswing in the number of infected COVID-19 cases.
Preparations for welcoming back some criminal jury trials this month have been stopped as the Victorian Supreme Court and County Court agree to postpone in light of a rise of cases in Melbourne and surrounding areas. Although there is no new date as of yet, residents in the city are expecting to be in a stage 3 lockdown for a number of weeks.
“We are conscious of the impact of this decision and we will continue to work to ensure that everything necessary is in place for the resumption of criminal trials as soon as it is appropriate to do so,” CJ Ferguson and Chief Judge Kidd said in a statement.
The courts will continue to use technology to conduct a range of hearings and will take active steps to ensure all criminal work that can be progressed will be.
The new jury trials were first suspended on 16 March. Three months later, courts had a tentative July date for the trials to resume when the new COVID-19 cases slowed.
Accused people were able to apply for judge-only trials and effectively jump the queue if the court approved. The first judge-alone trial began at the start of June after laws were introduced by the state government.
“We thank those who have been contributing to those [COVID-19] preparations across government and the profession,” CJ Ferguson and Chief Judge Kidd said.
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Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly.
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