On Monday, The Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judges voted to continue the suspension of jury trials beyond January 19, 2021.

The Judges had previously agreed to postpone trials until January 19, but the continued high levels of COVID-19 cases made that date unrealistic.

Rather than set a new date, the Bench agreed to meet again in early January to re-assess the COVID-19 data and review a timeline to safely resume jury trials.

“We look forward to when the infection rate is lower and the COVID-19 vaccine is more widely available,” says Administrative and Presiding Judge Brendan J. Sheehan. “Until then, we understand that putting members of the public under the constraints of a trial in the Justice Center is not in the best interest of safety.”

Even without jury trials, bench trials can still take place and attorneys have been asked to continue working their cases to determine if non-trial resolutions are possible.