Jury trial pause another setback for strained justice system, says county attorney

LACONIA — The latest postponement of jury trials in the state puts additional pressure on the criminal justice system which is already under considerable strain as a result of COVID, Belknap County Attorney Andrew Livernois said.

On Wednesday it was announced that all superior court jury trials and grand jury sessions are canceled at least through January because of rising COVID-19 cases.

Livernois said having another halt to jury trials is a hardship for victims, and also makes it harder to get defendants to agree to plead guilty. The postponement only adds to the backlog of criminal cases, he added.

“It’s very discouraging,” said Livernois. But, he added, the decision was understandable in light of the growing number of COVID cases across the state.

He said that the delays are a setback for victims of crime who have been waiting for many months for their cases to be heard.

He said four “serious cases” being handled by his office that were scheduled to go to trial in January will need to be rescheduled. Three are sexual assault cases, and the other is a domestic violence case. One of the cases dates back to 2019, he said.

Although 5% or less of the cases handled by the County Attorney’s Office go to trial, Livernois said the delays prevent a conclusion of even those cases that are settled outside of the courtroom.

“Without the possibility of trial it makes it so people are not willing to plead guilty,” he said.

Superior Court Chief Justice Tina Nadeau said the pause is partly due to "the difficulty in managing a juror population who are increasingly having to drop out because of sickness or exposure and the unique challenges these proceedings entail."

Livernois said while no trials in Belknap County have been disrupted because of jurors dropping out, he said COVID has made it more difficult to get people to serve on a jury.

“Many (in the jury pool) are asking to be excused because of legitimate concerns about COVID,” he said.

There were no jury trials for eight months after the pandemic started hitting the state in March of last year. That created a large backlog which the prosecutors in the County Attorney’s Office were just starting to work through.

The order also means that the grand jury session which had been scheduled to take place in January will not occur. Because prosecutors are required to indict those charged with felonies within 90 days of their arrest, Livernois said attorneys in his office will need to ask the court for an extension in those cases where the 90-day window expires in January.

Nadeau said jury trials are scheduled to resume in February if the rate of COVID-19 infections decreases substantially.

All New Hampshire courts will continue to remain open for the public for all other purposes.