Pierce County District Court Continued Suspension Of Jury Trials

University Place WA

23 January, 2022

6:25 PM

Description

Press release from the Pierce County Government: January 19, 2022 Pierce County District Court has continued the suspension of all new civil and criminal jury trials until at least March 4th, 2022. Jury trials are slated to begin again on March 7, 2022. This date will be revisited as it approaches to determine if an extension is necessary. District Court obtains jurors from the Pierce County Superior Court and Superior Court made the decision to suspend jury trials in part due to the rise in Omicron case numbers and their interest in keeping staff and court participants as safe as possible. Emergency Order 2022-02 does not affect other in-court appearances at this time but will be revisited at a later date. Pierce County District Court remains open to the public, to include the public counters located at the County City Building #239. As a reminder, Pierce County District Court Probation Services will continue to conduct probation appointments telephonically and/or virtually through an audio/video platform. All individuals currently on probation are expected to stay in contact with their probation officer and be available for appointments as scheduled. All persons referred to probation, will be directed to call 253-798-7595 within twenty-four (24) hours from referral, unless that time would fall on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, and then they must call the following business day. The building that houses Pierce County District Court Resource Center remains closed to the public but if resources are needed please call (253)798-7631 for assistance. Appointments with Service Providers will take place either telephonically or virtually. District Court requests that citizens of Pierce County follow the recommendations of the Washington State Department of Health, the Tacoma Pierce County Health Department and the Governor in order to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Pierce County District Court is the second largest District Court in the State of Washington and is proud to serve the citizens and visitors of Pierce County. The Court is staffed with eight judges and 103 court and probation employees. There are two sites where court activities are held: the County-City Building at 930 Tacoma Ave S., Tacoma, and the 925 Building (Court Resource Center). For more information, please visit our website at https://www.piercecountywa.gov/101/District-Court. This press release was produced by the Pierce County Government. The views expressed here are the author's own.