JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After months of delays due to the coronavirus pandemic, jury trials in Duval County began again this week.
The courthouse closed last March when most public functions went into lockdown. They resumed with extra precautions in early October when the COVID-19 spread seemed to be moderating. In November, three felony jury trials were delayed after court officials found out during jury selection that two defendants and a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office worker -- set to testify -- tested positive for COVID-19. Jurors were sent home and some attorneys quarantined as a result.
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The presiding judge, Chief Judge Mark Mahon, halted all trials again at that point.
The trial of Trey Carter, whose trial was suspended in the fall when he was showing symptoms of coronavirus, resumed Monday. After two hours of deliberation on Tuesday, a jury found him guilty of felony battery but acquitted him of a strangulation charge. He will be sentenced Friday.
Carter sued the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, claiming jail inmates were being subjected to cruel and unusual punishment due to exposure to infected inmates.
Mahon told News4Jax last year that the court has spent around $150,000 on plexiglass for courtrooms and court officials continue to screen people coming into the Duval County Courthouse.