​30 July 2020 

DISTRICT COURT JURY TRIAL LISTING INFORMATION 

Jury trials will be commencing in full from the first week in August. However, the number of listed jury trials able to be reached, will be limited by the impact of COVID-19 social distancing recommendations on the use of courtrooms. These restrictions will impact the in-court configuration for the jury, the empanelment of juries, the jury deliberation room as well as the induction of jury pools.

In the main, two courtrooms will be required for each individual jury trial, with the second courtroom to be used as a jury deliberation room.

To maximise the use of these limited resources it is proposed that where appropriate, matters may be held in the list longer than current practice. For example, it may be that some trials that would have been not reached on a Tuesday or Wednesday may now be held for a commencement on a Thursday or Friday or perhaps even to commence in the following week.

Counsel/parties and potential witnesses should be aware that they may need to be available into the following week in case their matter runs over.

In accordance with the current practice, the Registry and court listings will be the first point of contact for counsel/parties as to whether their matters will be reached on the day they are listed or whether they will be held in the list. Where appropriate a matter may be listed for a directions hearing before a Judge to determine whether it should continue to be held in the list.