This story has been updated to correct information on the backlog of cases. 

The ever-changing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic has been evident for many businesses and their day-to-day operations, and the same can be said for Delaware’s courts.

As soon as the coronavirus struck in early 2020, courts saw jury trials come to a screeching halt, forcing the judicial system to develop a precise plan on how to operate during the shutdown.

In June 2021, the judicial system reimplemented jury trials and the summoning process for jurors and began to address the case backlog of more than a year. But due to the rise of COVID-19 cases early in 2022, the courts once again paused such trials Jan. 3.

The closure has since concluded, as of Feb. 1, and the courts are back up and running.

In opening back up, the first step was to implement a Court Reopening Committee, tasked with developing a safe and efficient way to restart the hearing of cases.

One of the biggest issues the committee needed to address was how the courts could carefully resume jury trials. During the early stages of the pandemic, this was no easy task, but with concise arranging, the committee was able to do so back in June.

For months, the process had helped jury trials get back underway without any problems, but that all changed once the omicron variant began its rapid nationwide spread.

Even though jury trials were once again put on pause, the courts did everything they could to prevent any potential backlog of cases. According to statewide jury manager Kenneth Creedon, these efforts started even before the January shutdown took place.

“Priority was given to rescheduling cases involving incarcerated defendants, and consideration was given to the age of the case and any nonscheduling reasons for a delay, such as an outstanding mental health evaluation or a positive COVID test,” Mr. Creedon said. “This allowed most cases that were pending when the court closed to be tried or resolved by a plea by the end of 2021.”

Since reopening Feb. 1, the courts are continuing to schedule both trial and case reviews for outstanding cases, and are experiencing no delays.

Though some jurors have reportedly received summons only weeks ahead of their reporting date, Mr. Creedon said the courts are striving to provide them with an efficient system to fulfill their civic duty and, in simplifying the process, have not received any complaints regarding the updated summoning process.

“The court makes every effort to send the summons out in advance to ensure the jurors have a least one month of notice,” he said. “The court has gone through great lengths to ensure jurors have multiple and efficient options of reaching the Jury Services department.”

In addition, the courts have launched a web portal here that allows jurors to receive service on their terms from their smartphone, tablet or computer. Judicial officials have also equipped staff at each courthouse to respond to potential jurors should they have a question regarding their terms, and those workers are available weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The recent pause of jury trials was relatively sudden compared to its stoppage at the beginning of the pandemic. But this time around, the courts were prepared to operate under the shutdown.

The Court Reopening Committee had much to consider at the start of the pandemic. Factors such as courthouse size to accommodate social distancing, potential positive COVID-19 cases of staff and jurors, and technology had to be considered when devising a plan.

“We needed to come up with a way on how we could safely move forward,” Delaware Courts chief of communications Sean O’Sullivan said. “We spent a good month or two. We visited courthouses. We looked at what other states were doing. We had to say, ‘What’s the best way to do this?’”

Precautions such as Plexiglas “jury pods” that fit around chairs were installed in many state courthouses and remain there. The typical mask mandates and social distancing rules that have been common throughout the pandemic are also in place.

There are also Plexiglas fixtures in place to protect attorneys, defendants, plaintiffs, judges and court staff.

“We have to be cognizant of the risks,” Mr. O’Sullivan said. “We have to make sure that our process remains as faithful and true to the system as we can, but we also have to realize that the health and safety of everyone should be a top priority.”