ATLANTA — Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Harold D. Melton said Wednesday he will sign an order Saturday to lift the suspension of jury trials statewide. The order will extend until Nov. 9.

This is the seventh time the chief justice has extended the emergency for a 30-day period, as allowed by state law.

The blanket suspension of jury trials in place since a March 14 order is ending, effective immediately, the new order states.

A September order authorizes resumption of grand jury proceedings at the discretion of the chief judge of each Superior Court circuit, after consulting with the district attorney about where proceedings can be done safely in compliance with public health guidance.

The new order gives the chief judge of each trial court the discretion “to resume jury trials, if that can be done safely and in accordance with a final jury trial plan.”

To prepare for resumption of jury trials, the September order directed each chief judge to convene a local committee in each county of a judicial circuit to develop a detailed plan with specific guidelines for the safe resumption of jury trials.

Thomasville-based Superior Court Judge James E. Hardy said a Thomas County grand jury will convene on Monday, Oct. 26, the first Thomas County grand jury session since March.

Discussions have been conducted among court officials about how to handle the resumption of jury trials and grand juries.

In Thomas County Superior Court since the first COVD-19 related Supreme Court order, court proceedings have included taking guilty pleas, probation revocations and hearing motions, but no jury trials, said Thomas County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Steven Jones, who works in courtroom security.

“We will take our time and be sure everybody’s healthy,” Hardy said. “Judges have met. We’ve been discussing it a good while. Everything’s not back to near normal yet.”

Time must be allowed to prepare for a jury trial, Hardy said, adding that offices of the public defender, district attorney and clerk of court are among the public entities involved in trial preparation.

People entering Thomas County courtrooms must wear masks and have their temperature taken by deputies, the judge said. 

“We social-distance people,” he added.

Southern Judicial Circuit District Attorney Brad Shealy looks forward to beginning jury trials.

“We have a lot of cases that need to be moved, and it is hard to move cases without the public’s help through their participation in the jury system,” he said. “While we will be permitted to have jury trials, there are many logistical steps we need to look at and take before we start impaneling juries.”

The safety of jurors and courtroom personnel must be ensured, he added.

“We will learn from the starting of the grand juries what works or doesn’t work, and will use this information in preparing to start trial juries the first of next year,” Shealy said.

The district pointed out “a lot of difference between summoning a pool of 60 people to impanel a grand jury versus 180 people for jury trials.”

CDC guidelines might change and affect the start-up of jury trials, he said.

“But we are ready to move forward, as there is a lot of work that needs to be done to move all these cases that are pending throughout our circuit,” Shealy said.    

Senior reporter Patti Dozier can be reached at (229) 226-2400, ext. 1820