Less than two months after Iowa began gradually resuming jury trials amid COVID-19, the state Supreme Court is once again delays jury trials.
In an order issued Tuesday, the court put a hold on jury trials until at least Feb. 1, 2021, applying to any trial that has not sworn in a jury by Nov. 16. The order also grants extended deadlines for prosecutors to bring cases to trial under Iowa’s speedy trial rules, and suspends all grand jury proceedings until February as well.
Iowa initially postponed most criminal and civil trials in March as the first cases of COVID-19 appeared. Trials resumed Sept. 19 with new social distancing and disinfecting measures in place.
Iowa has reported more than 4,000 new cases on four of the past five days, after previously never exceeding 3,000 daily cases. Hospitalizations because of COVID-19 across the state have jumped 84% over the past two weeks.
Read the full story at the Des Moines Register.