U.S. Court in Seattle May Not Hold Jury Trials Until 2021 (1)

The federal court covering Seattle and Tacoma, Wash., is not likely to hold criminal jury trials until next year due to the coronavirus pandemic, a judge said in citing an inability to keep trials socially distant and the potential difficulty of assembling a jury.

John C. Coughenour, a senior judge for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, conveyed the sentiment in a letter to counsel published May 27.

“It is the considered view of most judges in the Western District of Washington that criminal jury trials are not likely to resume prior to 2021 and that ...