Criminal jury trials in Alaska remain suspended until at least March 15, 2021, and in-person civil trials are suspended until Sept. 7. In addition, in-person grand juries are suspended until Feb. 1, according to updated orders from Alaska Supreme Court Justice Joel Bolger.
“When this suspension is lifted, the time for trial will continue to be tolled for the time necessary to permit an orderly transition and scheduling,” Bolger wrote on Nov. 25. That means, don’t expect a speedy trial any time next year.
“News reports indicate that the first shipments of COVID-19 vaccine could be arriving in Alaska in just a few weeks, but vaccines probably won’t be available to the general public until March 2021,” Bolger wrote in his most recent order.
The suspension of civil trials does not apply to trials in which videoconference proceedings have been approved.
[Read entire order by Chief Justice Bolger at this link.]
In October, Bolger announced plans to reinstate criminal trials by November, but then the COVID-19 outbreak intensified in Alaska. On Nov. 12, Gov. Mike Dunleavy issued an emergency alert requiring all executive branch employees to work from home whenever feasible and urging other organizations that can operate remotely to allow their employees to work from home.
The courts have been closed since March 23, over 250 days.
Presiding judges in each judicial district have leeway to make exceptions for in-person trails and grand juries under “exceptional” circumstances.
