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Jury pools will be much smaller than in the past to accommodate 6-foot social distancing requirements. While the jury assembly building once accommodated 135 people sitting shoulder to shoulder, it now can hold approximately 15 to ensure safe separation. Instead of summoning 100 to 150 people per panel, plans call for each group to have 50 potential jurors.
For now, they will follow the 6-foot social distancing rule although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has suggested that schools could employ physical separation of 3 feet.
The jury assembly building will be linked by video conference to the courtroom so that potential jurors can at least listen to the questioning process in hopes of speeding along the process once they enter the courtroom. With small groups in the courtroom for voir dire, court officials expect that will lengthen the jury selection process significantly.